


Hotel Ceiling

by Trinisexual



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: F/F, please don't hate me for this guys, trimberly - Freeform, trimberly owns my ass and i still don't know how i ended up writing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 00:28:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 29,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10910562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trinisexual/pseuds/Trinisexual
Summary: Trini had always written in Binary code. She left little notes with hundreds of combination of zeros and ones. She used to write lines of Binary on Kimberly's arms. Kimberly had no idea what the lines of code mean, but they had meant something to Trini, and that was more than enough to convince Kim to treasure them. Over the months, Kim gathers over twenty Binary notes left behind. A month after Trini's death, she finds them again.





	1. How does it feel to leave me this way, When all that you have's been lost in a day?

Kimberly will never forget the look on Jason’s face when he had told her it was over. 

 

It was her fault- nobody said it- but it lingered in the air. 

 

She wasn’t paying attention to her earpiece. She was piloting her Zord, with total disregard of what the consequences would be. She didn’t listen to Jason telling her to slow down, or to Billy telling her that it wouldn’t _work_ because she was already too damn _late._ She didn’t even hear what Zack had told her. 

 

Kimberly should’ve known that it was going to end that way. For her, it always felt like her choices were the ones that had the bad consequences. The accident with Amanda? That was a mistake, a choice she had made in a moment of anger. It stripped her from being a star cheerleader and Angel Grove, her parents trusting her and her teachers respecting her. 

 

The events leading to Trini’s death? They happened from a choice she had made in a moment of anger. She hadn’t expected the consequences to be so large. She got angry- went to the wrong place at the wrong time, and couldn’t clean up her mess in time. 

 

That stripped her of feeling like she was worthy of being a Power Ranger- or continued to be treated like a normal human being at this point. 

 

Jason handled it the best. Billy was unsure of what to do, continuing to tell the calculations he had made earlier that day- and Zack, god, poor _Zack._ Kimberly had never seen Zack cry until that day. The way his eyes suddenly glossed over, in realization of what had happened. 

 

Kimberly didn’t cry. She remembers this too well because she remembers thinking that she should have been crying, like the boys were. Instead, she was frozen in place and Zack had gently taken her hand and quietly ask her if she was okay- and Kimberly was fine. She wasn’t injured. 

 

Jason was the first one to reach Trini. Trini was small- they had all constantly teased her about her height, but seeing Trini’s lifeless body in Jason’s arms, she looked even smaller. Abnormally smaller. 

 

None of them said anything, not even Billy, who had slowly started to realize that maybe him talking _wasn’t_ helping. Kimberly refused to believe it- there was no way that Trini, the same girl who had become her best friend and her girlfriend was gone. Trini, who had helped them save Angel Grove whenever there was danger. Trini, who was so patient and gentle with Billy, constantly helping him with is prototypes whenever he talked about them. Not Trini who had helped Zack take care of his mom, and playfully messed around with Zack when he was bored. Trini, who had always helped Jason with his legs on the days it was worse than normal, and finding more ways to make him feel comfortable again. 

 

There was _no way_ that Trini was gone. 

 

Except that she was. 

 

She was in Jason’s arms, her head lolled to the side, her body limp. 

Trini was still in her armor. Her mask was gone, though. Kimberly remembers that, too, only because the media was able to snap pictures of all of them in their armor with the title, _Yellow Ranger wounded in battle,_ which changed to, _Yellow Ranger is no longer part of the Power Rangers,_ to an article with a picture of all of them with the title, _Is the Yellow Ranger dead?_

 

It made Kimberly hate the media even more. Everywhere she went, everywhere she looked, she was constantly reminded of Trini. The world had gotten brighter with Trini in it, and somehow, _somehow_ Kimberly had managed to take away the light from herself. 

 

They brought Trini to Zordon. Zack had gotten the idea, getting hopeful. She remembers the way he had mentioned it, _“If Zordon can bring Billy back, he can bring Trini back, right?”_ That was the exact moment that it had hit her that Trini was dead, and that if they couldn’t bring her to Zordon fast enough, there was no chance of bringing her back. 

 

Jason had argued against Zack. Arguing wasn’t the right word- Jason had reminded them gently- Kimberly remembered the way Jason’s voice had cracked while reminding them that Billy was _lucky_ and that they were in the right place at the right time- and that it wasn’t going to work like that for Trini. 

 

In the end, they brought her back to Zordon- and they all saw the disappointment on his face. Eventually, it turned into understanding and Kimberly knew he was thinking about his own team, and how he had failed them, too. 

 

They weren’t Zordon’s team, but at they same time, they were. Zordon and Alpha had helped them become Power Rangers. Even if Zordon didn’t feel like an active part of their team, half of the things they have been able to do would have been impossible if it weren’t for Zordon and Alpha.

 

Zordon was their mentor, and as much as they made fun of him behind his back, they’ve grown used to Zordon being a part of their daily lives and is undoubtedly an important part of it. After all, without him, they wouldn’t know how to do half of the things they can do. 

 

Hearing Zordon telling them that he couldn’t do anything had sparked anger in all of them- Zack threatened to make Alpha scrap metal if Zordon didn’t at the least _try_ , Billy argued that it wasn’t fair that he was able to live if his friend didn’t and Jason had told Zordon that he didn’t want to let down another one of his friends. Not _again_. 

 

Kimberly couldn’t remember exactly what she said, but she remember that she made Zordon snap and yell back, saying that if she had just stuck to the plan, Trini wouldn’t have gotten hurt. 

 

It stun- it made Kimberly take a step back, her throat tightening and her palms becoming sweaty. It had stun, but Zordon was right. If Kimberly had stuck to the plan they formulated, Trini would still be okay. 

 

Zordon felt like he failed his team- again. Even after 65 million years, the pain and memories of him failing his own team- letting them die, not being able to stop Rita, was still carried with him. Zordon had trouble admitting it to them, but Jason? God, Jason seemed so graceful compared to the way Zordon handled letting his team down. Jason knew he had to take the blow. 

 

So he took it. 

 

He took it with his jaw clenching, swallowing nervously as all five of them had stood at Trini’s front door, waiting for her parents to answer. They had intended to call the cops, but Jason had insisted that it wouldn’t be fair that they would find out from two strangers knocking at their door, rather then Trini’s four friends. 

 

Trini’s dad had looked hopeful when he answered, until he saw all four of them standing there, guilty and not able to look him in the eye as Jason had explained what happened. The best he could without revealing that they were Power Rangers, at least. 

 

Later, after they were able to sneak away from their families and were back with Zordon, it was easier to tell that the space that Trini used to occupy was strangely empty, and it had just as much of an effect as it did on Zordon as it it did on Kimberly. Zack had filled it for a few moments, his own way of accepting what had happened, maybe. 

 

Jason kept looking over his shoulder, waiting for a sarcastic comment, and Billy’s eyes never left the empty spot. Kimberly kept waiting for Trini to grab her hand, but it never happened. 

 

Even if Zordon and Alpha were too afraid to admit it, they missed Trini as much as Kimberly and her friends do. 

 

* * *

 

 

Kimberly doesn't want to say that Billy handled it well. _Nobody_ handled loosing someone important to them well. But, Billy? Billy... handled it _surprisingly_ well. She didn't receive a phone call from his mother late at night like she had with Zack. 

 

Instead, Billy's mom, Candace, invited her over to dinner. 

 

Kimberly loves Billy, and she loves Candace, she really does. Candace was a great mother to Billy, and she was the only one of their parents who knew _some_ things about their... adventures. But she almost declined Candace's offer. Kimberly felt like she would be out of place if she had waltzed into the Cranston household for dinner one night, barely three weeks after they had delivered the news to Candace that Trini had died. 

 

Candace loves all of them. She really does. The first time Billy had invited all four of them over, Candace was nothing but ecstatic to have them over, even if they were obviously the ones behind her totaled car and Billy's schedule changes, which couldn't have been anything but stressful for her. 

 

After a few hours of internal debating, Kimberly decided she would take Candace up on her offer. Kimberly was starting to miss Billy, and it would be a good opportunity to see him again. It would also be an opportunity to see how Candace was holding up- Kimberly knows that Candace had grown to love Trini as if Trini were her own child. 

 

Kimberly showed up to the Cranston house wearing a dress, nervously holding flowers and eagerly waiting for Billy to answer the door. Billy did answer the door, wearing a dark blue buttoned shirt and dark jeans. Kimberly was greeted immediately by the scent of meatballs and garlic bread as Billy took the flowers from her, talking about how they were blue, like him, and Kimberly smiled, telling him that's why she had picked them. 

 

Billy then started to explain to her that the flowers weren't naturally blue, since it's hard to find naturally blue flowers in nature as he led her to the kitchen. He mentioned something else, something about it being hard to change the color pigments of the flowers and that they were probably expensive.

 

"I hope you aren't boring Kimberly already, Billy." Candace said as they walked in, Billy immediately grabbing a vase. 

 

"You know me, Candace," Kimberly told her, "Billy could never bore me." 

 

Billy smiled proudly from his spot at the sink as Candace turned off the stove, and Kimberly grabbed the three plates that were neatly stacked, handing them to Candace as Billy grabbed the drinks.

 

Dinner was more awkward than Kimberly had expected. It was different without the other boys and Trini, and it was obvious. Billy kept glancing over at the seat next to him, where Jason usually sits, and Kimberly couldn't help but feel that she exposed without Trini to her right and Zack to her left. 

 

Kimberly wasn't exactly sure what to do with the information that Candace was struggling without Trini. Not because Candace is an adult and that adults should have all the answers and know what to do, but because she felt that no matter what she did, she wouldn't be able to help Candace the way she wanted too, or the way Candace needed. 

 

Billy was the one who asked if they could be excused, saying that he wanted to show Kimberly a new prototype. Kimberly made sure to thank Candace for dinner, and followed Billy wordlessly to the basement. Billy instantly continued to work on his latest prototype, which at the time, had only looked like a few pieces of metal bent at awkward angles. 

 

It was normal for Billy to pace and work while talking, but that night, it seemed different for a while, until Kimberly was finally able to figure it out. All the other times she had been invited to his basement, there had been metal scraps thrown on the floor, maps posted on one wall, various colors of string pinned to different locations, and the workbench on the opposite wall was a mess of tools, wires, and breadboards. Blueprints would be laying around, and Billy's favorite music would be playing from an unseen speaker set. 

 

That night, his basement was abnormally organized. Billy's an organized person, don't get her wrong, that's not why it was surprising. It was surprising because Kimberly had noticed that Billy worked the best when the basement was organized in his own unique way. 

 

His basement felt like it was no longer neat in his own, unique way that helped him work. Instead, it almost felt like some asshole had decided to clean it up in the middle of the night while Billy was sleeping and Billy just hadn't gotten around to fixing it until it was the way he liked it. 

 

Billy's blueprints and designs were neatly stacked in the corner, the one on top was a design of some sort of rocket, and in the title block in the corner, Kimberly noticed Trini's handwriting. Barely legible, she had sprawled out the date, the name of the creation, and her and Billy's name. 

 

As Billy continued to work, Kimberly continued to look through more of Billy's designs, most of them with either Trini's handwriting, or Trini's name next to Billy's in the title block. As far as Kimberly knew, Billy and Trini never got around to actually building and of their designs. Based off from what she had, it was obvious that whatever Billy was working on that Saturday night wasn't any of the inventions him and Billy had designed together.

 

"Kimberly? Are you okay?"

 

"Wh- yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

 

"I asked you if wanted to help me build this. You didn't answer," Billy told her with a frown, holding a wrench in his hand limply at his side.

 

"Oh! Yeah, Billy, I'd love to help." 

 

She spent the next thirty minutes helping Billy put together his prototype, listening to him tell her about what he was trying to create, _I'm trying to see which airfoil will work the best and produce the most amount of lift, that way it would be faster for the plane to take off. I'm also going to measure the chord and see if that has any relation. It does, but there's not an equation that explains it._

 

Kimberly tried to keep up with what Billy was telling her. She didn't know half of the words that he had just said, much less the basics of what he was doing. She made a mental note to look them up later. 

 

Billy looked up from his work suddenly, “You painted your nails yellow again.” 

 

“Wha- oh, yeah, I did.” Kimberly replied. She wasn't that surprised that Billy noticed- he noticed all of the little things. She had painted her nails yellow when she was dating Trini. It was her own way of reminding herself that Trini was her girlfriend. She stopped painting them yellow after Trini had died- she didn’t want to see the yellow anymore. Yellow was just a constant reminder of what had happened, of all the good memories that were surrounded by Trini. At the time, Kimberly didn’t want to remember anything. 

 

“Why?” 

 

“I just missed it, I guess.” 

 

Billy nodded, turning his attention back to his work, “Yeah. I do, too.” He told her. She wasn’t sure what to say then- none of them had actually addressed how they were feeling. Billy seemed to be doing fine. Compared to the rest of them, at least. Kimberly could barely pull herself out of bed, Jason wouldn’t talk to anybody, and Zack wasn’t the same happy, outgoing kid anymore. 

 

It seemed like Billy was going on with his daily life as if nothing had changed. Kimberly had begun to assumed that it was because Billy had gone through loosing his dad, who was a very important person in Billy’s life.

 

Assuming that Billy was fine was the wrong thing to do, and honestly was such a bitch move on Kimberly’s part, but what else was she supposed to do if Billy didn’t talk to her about it? Billy suddenly stopped what he was doing, put his wrench down and sighed. 

 

“I don’t understand,” Billy started as he looked at Kimberly, “Why it was Trini.” 

 

“I don’t understand why it was Trini, either, Billy.” Kimberly told him as she sat on the stool next to his, her voice shaking.

 

“Was it something I did?” Billy asked. 

 

“God, Billy, _no._ It wasn’t anything you did, I promise,” Kimberly answered quickly. She hated to see that Billy was blaming himself, that he had probably been spending the past few days building prototypes and writing codes in hopes to get rid of the feeling in his chest that it was _his_ fault. “It wasn’t anything you did. You tried your best, Billy. It’s not your fault.” 

 

“Then how come I was able to come back?” 

 

There it was. One of the few things that they and wordlessly agreed to _not_ bring up, one of the few things that was left for all of them to mull over individually. Kimberly wished that she could have answered his question simply, just tell him that he was lucky, and that, unfortunately, Trini didn’t happen to be as lucky. But she knew Billy. Billy was going to ask for an explanation, wanting to understand as much as he possibly could, and Kimberly wasn’t sure if she could handle that. 

 

She doesn’t answer for a few moments. What was she supposed to tell him? That when Rita had killed him, they were lucky that Zordon had decided to bring him back? That it was only something that could happen once? She knew for a fact that Billy didn’t feel lucky; he just lost someone who had become his sister. 

 

“I don’t know, Billy. I guess we could only bring back one person.” 

 

“But Trini deserved to come back.”

 

“I guess the world didn’t think that, Billy.” She told him, feeling her chest tighten- she had been able to talk about it with Jason and Zack, but even then, they still _didn’t_ talk about it. They had nervously tiptoed around actually bringing Trini up. It was easier that way; but in the long run, Kimberly didn’t think it would helped much. 

 

Billy didn’t say anything else, and that’s when Kimberly noticed the yellow band on his wrist, one of those one that usually had a saying on it, but it was just yellow. Resting on his wrist, hidden from sight earlier. 

 

“I’m almost done,” Billy said, his voice quieter than earlier, “Still want to help?” 

 

Kimberly didn’t hesitate, trying to sound eager to help again. He smiled at her, turned his attention back to his work with an occasion spoken word, asking for a screwdriver or a wire. She wondered if Billy was pretending as if Trini wasn’t gone, or if he had just decided that it would be better if he could somehow manage to push through and busy himself. 

 

After a while, Kimberly decided to look through his and Trini’s blueprints again. Billy looked over his shoulder at her, “If you look hard enough, you’ll always find what you’re looking for. That’s what my dad used to say, at least,” He told her when his face was covered in recognition at what she was holding in her hands, “Trini had the best ideas. I loved hearing them.” 

 

Kimberly had smiled at that. She had never gotten to see Billy and Trini work together, but imagine them hunched over a blueprint, talking excitedly about what ideas they had, then drawing it down sloppily in hopes to make it one day was an easy image in her head. Trini and Billy had always worked together well. 

 

She didn’t know how he did it, but Billy handled Trini’s death as if it wasn't a burden, as if he had lost someone important. It was obvious that Billy missed Trini, but he handled it with such grace and continued to remember her. 

 

He ended up writing her eulogy. 

 

* * *

 

 

Zack took it the worst. 

 

None of them have been to school in almost a month- which they all know is more than what they should have taken off from school, but they couldn’t help themselves. Trini wasn’t just their best friend, a part of their team, a part of their family, but their rock. 

 

Without Trini, there was a gap in everything. Trini was the only thing that had grounded all of them. It’s not because she was the best fighter, or the most understanding- it was because she has been through more shit than the rest of them and still, somehow, Trini managed to rise above and become better. 

 

Kimberly didn’t know what to expect late on a Thursday night when her phone rang. She certainly wasn't expecting to hear Zack’s mom speaking in mandarin worriedly. Kimberly knew enough basic mandarin, thanks to the few times Zack had gave them lessons, to understand that she was worried about Zack. 

 

Kimberly didn’t even hang up, she left her phone in her room and flew down the stairs, searching for the car keys. Her parents woke up, running down after her and asking her what was wrong, and it was such a blur that all Kimberly remembered was telling them that she needed to get to Zack as fast as she possibly could. 

 

Her parents were left staring after her in shock when she sped out of the driveway, not even bothering to look over her shoulder for passing cars. 

 

She made it to his house in record time, her wheels screeching on the asphalt as she slammed on the brakes- and it only occurred to her when she stumbled out of her car and slammed the door shut, she would have gotten there faster if she used her powers instead.

 

Zack wasn’t on the porch waiting for her, and neither was his mom. Kimberly hadn’t expected her to be waiting there. His mother was getting better, slowly, but surely for the meantime, but Kimberly knew that she wasn’t able to make the trek from her room in the back of the house to the front door. 

 

Also, Kimberly was almost positive that Zack’s mom wasn’t able to rip the door off the hinges. The house was dark, and Kimberly’s stomach dropped as she started to think that maybe she was too late, and whatever had gone wrong had already happened. 

 

She pushed the crooked door slowly to the side, afraid to make too much noise, “Zack?” She called, taking a slow, unsure step into the house. Zack didn’t answer, and Kimberly ran her fingers along the wall, fumbling for the light switch as she called again, “Zack? C’mon, it’s just me.” 

 

Kimberly found Zack in the corner of the kitchen once she was able to get the lights on. There was muddy footprints, undoubtedly from Zack. Broken glass littered the floor, papers were scattered everywhere, some of them fluttering from the breeze. 

 

His face was buried in his hands, his hands were bloody, his eyes red, shoulders shaking. 

 

Kimberly quickly grabbed a towel and ran it under the sink and silently helped him clean his hands. He quietly accepted her help, patiently waiting as she pulled out some shards of glass that were rooted in his palms. He only let out a small pained hiss when she had ran his hands under hydrogen peroxide. 

 

His hands were going to heal in a few days, but the scars were still there. 

 

“Thank you,” Zack mumbled shyly once she was done and had approved that he was okay. Not okay, but he was _going_ to be okay. At least, Kimberly had hoped so. She had started to say that he shouldn’t thank her, but he stopped her swiftly, “Kimberly, I’m serious. Thank you.” 

 

“I… You’re welcome.” 

 

Zack nods as he starts to help her clean up the mess. They clean up quickly, and as soon as they’re finished, they check on his mother, who was clearly worried and a bit shaken up about the chaos that Zack caused while Kimberly was gone, but she was just happy to find out that they were both okay. 

 

Kimberly didn’t go home that night. Instead, she had asked Zack if she wanted him to stay- which, looking back on it, was the _stupidest_ thing she had ever asked him, because of _course_ Zack had wanted her to stay. If she had just torn her house apart, she would have wanted Zack to stay, too. 

 

What _did_ surprise Kimberly though, was when they were standing outside the door of his mother’s room, and his brown eyes rimmed with tears, pulled her into a hug. His arms wrapped around her tightly, his face pressed into the fabric of her shirt on her shoulder. She didn’t hesitate to hug him back, her wrapping her arms around his shoulders. 

 

His warmth was comforting- her parents had tried to comfort her, and Kimberly had always made an excuse. Her parents were trying- she understood that, she really did, but she didn’t _want_ them to try. 

 

Zack had smelt like firewood, and his hair had tickled her cheek. Her nails dug a bit into his jacket as she had pulled him closer- telling herself that they’re both okay, and that Zack was still there with her. They were holding on so tightly, that Kimberly could feel his heart hammering in his chest, and she wonders if he had felt hers hammering, too. 

 

When he finally pulled back to look at her, she could see the hopelessness in his face, the thoughts sinking into his mind that he was _alone._ Trini was his best friend, and Kimberly knew that whoever Zack met next, they weren’t going to be as special as Trini. Kimberly had thought about that a lot. He quickly looked away, suddenly embarrassed when Kimberly’s eyebrows knitted together in concern. 

 

“Hey,” She told him gently, resting her hand on his cheek, “You’re not alone.” 

 

“I know.” He had whispered, his bottom lip trembling as he looked at her again. She knew that he believed her, that he had completely put all of his trust and faith in her at that moment, but she needed to hear herself say it again. 

 

“I promise that you’ll never be alone, okay?” Kimberly whispered back. Even in the lightly dimmed hall, she could see some of the dried up blood that had ended up on his face. She hadn't thought to clean it off earlier, too worried about his hands. It wasn't a promise that Kimberly could keep, but _god,_ she swore to herself that she would do whatever it took to keep that promise for Zack. 

 

Zack nodded wordlessly, and Kimberly had leaned up to kiss his cheek before hugging him again. "Go take a shower," she told him as he opened the door to his bedroom, "It'll make you feel a bit better." 

 

He hesitated- his hand still resting on the doorknob, his head tilted to the side as he looked down at her. He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at the ends, leaving it an untamed mess. "You'll still be here, right?" 

 

"Of course," Kimberly assured him quickly- the worried look in his eyes was still there. She had a feeling that it wouldn't go away for a long time. All of them were constantly worried since.  "I'll wait." 

 

Zack accepted that as an answer, and allowed her to wait in his room. She was surprised to find how clean it was- even as many times as they had all hung out at Zack's house, she's never really seen his room. His bed was pushed against the wall, his small dresser had a mirror propped up on it, and his backpack was sitting in the corner. He had books neatly stacked in his closet, she only noticed it when he grabbed a change of clothes before closing the door again. 

 

Kimberly almost fell asleep while waiting for Zack. His shower took ten minutes, top, but she hadn't been sleeping well lately. Kimberly was sure that none of them had slept well lately. Zack came in quietly, rolled open his window, and gave her a smile, "I like it open," He explained, "You can hear everything. At least, I like to pretend I can." 

 

Kimberly hummed in acknowledgment, tuning her ears. Sure enough, Zack was right. With the window wide open, she could hear the bugs chirping and the occasional sound of an owl, but it was also dead silence that seemed to stretch over Angel Grove. "Yeah," She agreed after a few moments, "I see what you mean."

 

"Good, now scoot over," Zack told her, tapping her shoulder. When she didn't move, he groaned dramatically, "Kimberly, I'll steal these damn blankets if you don't move your ass."

 

"God, you could ask a little nicer," Kimberly countered back, but had scooted over anyways, like Zack had requested. He smiled again widely, crawling into his twin sized bed. Kimberly was squished between Zack and the wall, but she didn't mind. It was much more comforting to be in a small bed, that Zack's feet almost dangled over the edge, than it was to be sleeping in her own bed alone. Knowing that one of her friends was next to her and was safe was a million times better than struggling to sleep in her oddly empty bed. 

 

She ran his fingers through his damp hair, muttered something about him needing to get a haircut before Zack and grabbed her hand and told her to be quiet, that he was trying to sleep. "Okay, okay," Kimberly whispered into the dark as Zack's grip on her hand tightened, "Good night, Zack."

 

Kimberly could almost hear the smile in Zack's voice as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Good night, Kim." 

 

The following morning, Kimberly woke up to Zack on the floor. His face was buried into the carpet, but his hand was still hanging on the edge of his bed. He mumbled something incoherent as she stepped over his sleeping form, making her way to the kitchen.

 

The door was still crooked, so she wrote on a piece of paper that she needed to help him replace it so she wouldn't forget, and rummaged through his fridge, only to find that most of the foods had expired, except for the milk. She sighed and closed it quietly as Zack entered the kitchen, rubbing the back of his neck, "Yeah, I uh, I need to go to the grocery store again, but we have Cheerios if you want." He offered. 

 

Kimberly had to do a double take. The previous night, she didn't remember Zack looking so... _mature._ His his jaw was covered in patches of scruff, his shoulders seemed to have a new permanent hunch, one that was barely noticeable, and the dark circles underneath his eyes were bigger than she had remembered. 

 

Instead of a normal white tee shirt that he usually wore, he was wearing a faded yellow one, that was too tight on his shoulders and revealed his stomach as he raised an arm to run his fingers through his hair again. Kimberly hadn't noticed it last night in the dark, and wasn't paying close enough attention to notice when she woke up. 

 

Zack was looking at her strangely, too. 

 

"You're wearing her shirt," Zack eventually said, grabbing a box of Cheerios from the pantry and two bowls, "It's weird, seeing yellow without her in it." Kimberly noticed the small quiver in his voice as he moved around the kitchen gracefully. Kimberly nodded in agreement, gesturing to his shirt as he waited for her response. 

 

"You're wearing yellow, too."

 

He looked down at his shirt, and pulled on the hem nervously before shrugging, "I guess I am, aren't I?" 

 

They grew silent again as they ate their bowls of cereal. Kimberly didn't want to leave Zack, but she knew her parents were worried out of their minds. She had to go home, to check in, at the least. 

 

She thanked Zack's mom for letting her crash there for the night, and she thanked Zack for letting her steal his bed. He was nervous to let her go- even if he didn't admit it. Kimberly promised him that she would come back as soon as she could.

 

Zack finally gave in, allowed her to drive home. Later that day, she drove back to his house, and the door was replaced, and Zack was waiting for her, eating an apple on the roof. He had smiled at her as if the previous night never happened, and he was wearing a yellow shirt that fit him appropriately. 

 

* * *

 

Jason didn't take it very well. He didn't take it as bad as Zack did, but he didn't handle it as well as Billy did. Kimberly knows that Jason's constantly thinking about it, and how he's the _red ranger_ and his job to protect _his team_ , only to constantly feel that he let his team down. 

 

Jason had never been confident in making all of the calls himself, relying on the input from the other four of them. He was used to Trini charging into battle next to him. They were all important parts of their team, they all knew that, but it was undeniable just how well Trini and Jason worked together in battle. 

 

Trini was all heart when fighting. Jason was all head. In the end, they tended to balance each other out well. On top of that, Trini was already a good fighter. If anything, fighting came easily for her. Jason thought through what would happen, wanting to do his best to keep all of them safe. Trini? Trini had the same motivation- the only difference was that she wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to ensure that they were okay. 

 

Without a doubt, Trini was their best fighter. If it wasn't for her, they wouldn’t have been able to do half of the things they achieved as Power Rangers. 

 

Seeing Jason without the support Trini gave him, the unconditional support and undying trust she placed into his hands was strange. Jason suddenly started to feel that he never dissevered to have those things from Trini. 

 

They were sitting in the trunk of Jason’s newly fixed truck, Jason’s bad leg stretched out next to them when he looked at her, his blue eyes no longer bright and hopeful, “I should’ve _known_ I was going to fuck that up, too.” 

 

Neither one of them had brought up Trini. Kimberly didn’t need to ask him what he meant by that. She knew perfectly well what Jason had meant, pain etched across his face as he locked eyes with her, and then blinking away his tears and messing with his shoelace. 

 

“You didn’t fuck anything up. She trusted you.” 

 

“Maybe that’s what killed her. Remember when Billy trusted me? He died, too. H- He came back… but he still _died._ Even if I didn’t fuck up, I killed her.” 

 

Kimberly had never wanted to slap Jason so hard in her life. He still had a hard time with the fact that Billy had actually _died_. They all did. Trini had constantly checked on Billy during class, making excuses to leave just to walk by his classroom to see if he was still okay. Zack stopped roughhousing with him for a few weeks- and even when they trained together, Kimberly could see the hesitation Zack had to fight. 

 

Jason always looked at Billy with that same expression of amazement and surprise, mixed with worry and fear. Kimberly tried her best to treat Billy the same way she had before, but even she knew that she started acting different around Billy. If they were fighting the newest danger in Angel Grove, Billy was her stop priority. They all started to look out for Billy more, in their own different way. 

 

Sometimes, it hit Kimberly that someday, they would have to go through the pain of loosing Billy again. The idea of that terrified her. She wonders if any of the others had lost sleep over that revelation. Jason definitely had that thought a lot- she could tell by the way he would grow quiet whenever they talked about Billy or one of them getting hurt, and what they would do. He still held guilt from being shocked and not sure of what to do. Kimberly can’t count all the times Jason had thanked her for taking control that night. 

 

What else was she supposed to do? They were a team, after all. 

 

Jason had showed up in his truck early in the morning the day they talked about Trini. They were in the middle of series of rainstorms- the rain was pouring down and tapping against the glass all night, effectively keeping Kimberly awake. She usually didn’t mind the rain, but it was weird without Trini’s sleeping figure next to hers. 

 

He knocked loudly three times, and Kimberly had tripped over the rug in a rush to open the door. She could hear Jason’s car engine grumbling from her room. He was already soaked from his short walk to the door, his hair plastered to his forehead, his teeshirt a darker shade of red than normal. 

 

Jason didn't have to say anything- Kimberly understood. 

 

Kimberly shouted upstairs to her parents, letting her know that she was leaving. She promised them that she was going to be back home in time for dinner- hopefully. Her day with Jason had ended up being longer than she expected. She didn’t mind- Jason was a part of her team, and even after loosing Trini they still needed to be a team, right? 

 

They didn’t stop by Billy’s house, and Jason drove slower than he usually did when they passed Trini’s house. All of the lights were off, except for the one in the kitchen, and Kimberly saw the shadow of Trini’s younger brothers with her dad. It was weird to see Trini’s house without Trini in it. 

 

Jason drove past the mine where Billy found the coins, he drove past the outskirts of Angel Grove, and when the rain had stopped, he pulled over and got out wordlessly. He limped around to the trunk of his car, let the back fall down with a clang, and as Kimberly clambered out after him, he ignored her- grabbing a yellow shoe box from the backseat. 

 

“Remember when Trini gave me this for my birthday?” He asked, his voice louder than usual- anger etched in his face. “She found the right engine piece I needed to fix my truck,” He explained to Kimberly, “Told me that it took her weeks, but she did it anyways. I still don’t understand why she did it. I was an asshole to her before we were Rangers.” 

 

“You didn't know her before we were rangers.” 

 

“That’s the damn point!” Jason shouted, slamming his hand against the edge of his trunk, leaving a fist-sized dent in it’s wake. Kimberly has never seen Jason get angry- not like this. Jason has always been able to control his anger. Seeing him loose it so easily after was a bit surprising at the time, but looking back at it, it made sense. Everyone reached their breaking point eventually- even team leaders. “I only knew her as a power ranger! I… God, Kimberly, I knew who _everyone_ was except for Trini!  She could’ve left us alone with Rita, hell, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she never showed up again. I mean, look at us! Why would she pick us? The ex-star quarterback and the cheerleader?” 

 

“Jason…” 

 

“No. We didn’t deserve her. She didn’t own any of us anything, but she gave us everything. Billy’s different- he found the coins and knew what he was doing. But Trini? I don’t think she ever wanted to do this, not even a little bit, like the rest of us. But she still did it.” 

 

“Trini chose to do this with us because she cared about us, Jason.” 

 

“She cared too damn much, then. Got her killed.” Jason shot back angrily. A few moments later, after he had realized what he said, his expression softened, and he ran his fingers through his hair nervously, groaning in annoyance, “That’s… I-I… T-that’s not what I meant,” Jason whispered, looking at Kimberly. “I didn’t mean it like that. I… I miss her, Kimberly. It’s not what I meant.” 

 

“I know,” Kimberly assured him as he pulled her in for a hug, “I know.” 

 

Jason had felt dangerously cold underneath her touch, when her hand brushed his neck, when her hand had gripped his elbow, and when his hand found her wrist, holding her in place. His blue eyes where wild as he looked down at her again, “ _Promise me_ you won’t do that,” He begged her, “God, Kimberly, _promise me_ you won’t leave us.” 

 

Kimberly didn’t hear herself respond, her voice had cracked and her throat was dry, because that was the first time it had hit her that Trini was never coming back. 

 

Jason asked her to stay a while longer, not ready to go back to Angel Grove. She took up his offer immediately. They sat in his trunk, eating the bag of Cheetos Jason had found underneath his backseat, not caring how long it had been there. She had wondered if Jason had  already taken the boys out here to help them clear their heads, or if he had only done it because he felt that it was the only way he could help Kimberly. 

 

Either way, Kimberly was thankful for Jason taking her out that day. It brought her back to the very first time she had actually met him, and how they had talked about leaving Angel Grove. Kimberly has grown to love Jason, don’t get her wrong, but sitting in the back of his truck had made her realize that the only person she’d ever run away from Angel Grove was Trini, and even then, they wouldn’t have done it. Angel Grove needed them. 

 

She had started to feel tired when Jason shifted suddenly, grabbing the yellow box that rested on the backseat through the window, handing it to Kimberly. He looked at her expectantly, and Kimberly had stared at him stupidly, “What do you want me to do with this?” 

 

“Open it, Kim.” Jason told her, waving in her direction, “Come on, just open it.” 

 

Kimberly was hesitant to listen to Jason’s command, but eventually, she worked up the courage to open it. She remembered being hopeful, that maybe it was something, _anything_ that could somehow bring Trini back, and she didn’t want to open it to be let down. Besides, it was just a shoebox. How important is something in a shoebox? 

 

It was Trini’s morphing coin. It was siting in the middle of the box, staring up at her, and Jason nudged her shoulder gently, “I know Zordon told me to hide it, so the future yellow ranger could find it, but it didn’t feel right if I was the one who hid it,” Jason explained quietly, “I know you probably don’t want it, and that’s fine, but I… I don’t know, I just thought that maybe you’d want to see it again. I know it sounds silly, b-”

 

“I’ll take care of it.” Kimberly told him. She hadn’t taken her eyes off the coin. It wasn’t glowing, like all of their coins had done when they were alive. It was just another reminder that Trini didn’t misplace it, or that Zack had stolen it as a prank. It was a reminder that Trini wasn’t the Yellow Ranger anymore, that she wasn’t the same person who ended up in all of Angel Grove’s newspapers without realizing that the Yellow Ranger was just a teenager. 

 

Jason gave her a small smile at that, “You sure?” 

 

“Yeah,” She promised, “I’ll take care of it. I know just the place.” 

 

That was a lie. Kimberly had no idea where she was going to hide a 65 million power coin that was waiting for the next person being worthy of the Yellow Ranger, but what she did know was that she was going to hold onto it until she did. 

 

Jason nodded, not pressing her further as she closed the shoebox carefully. Jason decided that it was time that the got home. Kimberly had almost argued- she wasn’t ready to go back home- not to where her room was filled with every small thing that could remind her of Trini- but she gave in when Jason grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring hand and mouthing, _It’ll be okay_ as she looked at him over his shoulder as she walked back into her house, where her parents were waiting. 

 

* * *

 

The very next day, Billy and Zack showed up on her porch wearing black suits. Both of them sat on the edge of her bed as she tore apart her closet, looking for the dress her mother had bought for her. 

 

Billy more jittery than usual- muttering to himself under his breath, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it, looking at it carefully, folding it back up carefully before putting it back into his pocket. 

 

Zack’s hair was it’s normal length again, and his hands were no longer covered in small scabs. 

 

Jason showed up, his hair combed to the side, his leg brace gone. When all three of them looked at him in concern, he insisted that he was fine. He could go a day without using it, he told them. Nobody said anything about the yellow pocket square he had tucked into his breast pocket. 

 

Seeing Trini’s family again was the worst part of the funeral. Her brothers were still at the weird age where they were too young to understand exactly what was going on, but they were also smart enough to put the pieces together, and have a basic understanding of what was going on. 

 

She remembered how they both got wide-eyed at the same time, seeing her and the boys show up. It was as if seeing them without Trini had helped them finally understand that Trini wasn’t going to be there to help them with math homework, or buying them legos and cooking them breakfast in the mornings on the weekend anymore. One of them had walked up to Kimberly, gave her a hug, and walked back over to his father’s side. 

 

Kimberly couldn’t bring herself to talk to Trini’s parents- not because they never got along, but because Kimberly didn’t want to invade their space. No parent should ever have to go through the pain of knowing they outlived their own child, no matter how it had happened. They were going to be left wondering wondering exactly what they could have done to stop it- if they could have, and that guilt was already heavy enough with them, without their daughter’s girlfriend reminding them that they were all hurting. 

 

Kimberly’s parents showed up, too. All of their parents showed up, except for Zack’s mom, who had sent him with a bouquet of flowers and her condolences. Jason’s parents and his sister had stayed to the side with Kimberly’s parents and Candace. Candace was nervous, worried about how Billy was going to handle the attention he was about to receive. 

 

Kimberly’s parents had wanted to stay near her, but she had told them she would feel better standing between Zack and Jason, and she did. Knowing that her boys were going to be their if she needed them- that was more comforting than the comfort her parents could ever offer. 

 

Billy handled the stress of writing Trini’s eulogy with grace, just like he had with loosing Trini. Kimberly has never heard a group of people be so quiet to hear someone speak. She felt guilty for not remembering most of what Billy had said. She had almost asked him for a copy of it, but she never got around to asking. 

 

* * *

 

Hours after Trini’s funeral,  all of them were dressed in tee-shirts and sweatpants and stuffing as much food as they could under their shirts, sneaking past Jason’s mother in the kitchen, telling her they were going to be in his room if she needed them- which was a lie. 

 

They passed Jason’s dad, who gave them a small smile as he walked by, then sprinted to Jason’s truck- closing the front door as quietly as they could. Zack jumped into his normal spot in the trunk, before crawling through the window to sit next to Kimberly, and Billy was already gaining control of the stereo as Jason sped out of his driveway, leaving all of the windows down. 

 

Jason parked his truck crookedly as they pulled up to the quarry. Their fire pit, which they had used weekly before Trini died, was still put together nicely, even after a month of them not even showing up to the quarry. He left it on to blast music through the speakers. 

 

Billy had grabbed the bag of marshmallows from Zack before he could even open it, tossing it to Kimberly as he knelt down to start the fire. Zack had already grabbed the blankets and sat down on the log next to her, throwing the blanket over their shoulders. 

 

“I love you, Kimberly Ann Hart,” He told her, his face splitting into the biggest grin she has seen since Trini died, “You might be a royal pain in my ass, but, god fucking damn it, I _love_ you, Kim.” 

 

“I love you too, Zack,” She told him, stunned by his words, “You might be a bit crazy, but I love you, too.” 

 

“I know you do,” Zack replied, pretending to flick hair over his shoulder, “Who doesn't love me?” 

 

Jason burst into a roaring fit of laughter at that, “You, Zack Taylor, are the biggest pain in my ass, and that’s saying something. Have you met my sister?”

 

“I’m not a pain in your ass, I’m just crazy, there’s a difference!” 

“For you that’s the same thing!” Jason shouts back from his car, his head hidden by a door.

 

Zack rolled his eyes dramatically, slinging his arm over Kimberly’s shoulders as he smiled at her again, “Also, you’re a badass. The baddest of the bad.” 

 

Kimberly let out a small chuckle at that, trying to shrug off the feeling that something was different. Zack has never complimented her, not straight up like that, at least. He was always sure to cover it with about ten layers of sarcasm. Jason limped back over, smiling widely, too. 

 

Billy finally gets the fire started, and sits next to Jason. All three of them were looking at her expectantly, and she couldn’t help but feel nervous. They all grow quiet again as Billy starts to roast a few marshmallows, telling Jason to stop eating the chocolate. 

 

Zack was leaning on her shoulder, nearly asleep when Billy stood up suddenly rubbing his hands together nervously, looking at Jason for approval. Jason gives him an encouraging smile, “C’mon, you got this, Billy.” 

 

Kimberly crushed the can Zack had handed her a few minutes ago, suddenly feeling nervous again. “Sorry,” She mumbled when all of them looked at her, concerned etched on all of their faces. “I’m fine. Go on, Billy.” 

 

“I, uh, I wanted to talk about Trini.” Billy said quickly, “I mean, if you guys want to. I was talking to Jason about it, and uh… I wrote two eulogies. It didn’t seem fair to write one for the way only her family remembered her, so I wrote one for us.” 

 

Zack’s grip suddenly tightened on her shoulders at Trini’s name. She grabs his free hand as he glanced over at her, unsure of what to make of what Billy was telling him. The look in Zack’s eyes made her want to tell Billy that they should wait until another day, but she was dying  to know what Billy had wrote. 

 

Billy was great with his words. He could make the entire world fall in love with someone they had never might just by the way he described them. He could make everyone change their views in a matter of seconds. Zack swallowed roughly, then nodded. 

 

“Sure, Billy, I think that’s a great idea.” 

 

"Okay," Billy said quietly, shaking his arms and rolling is neck, "Alright. Okay. Give me a minute," He pauses, pulling out a slip of paper from his pockets. "Okay. Here it goes. I didn't know Trini until the night I found the coins. I don't think any of us did, but that night ended up being one of the best nights of my life, because that's the night I found you guys. And you guys haven't left my side since that night, and I thank you guys for that. You've all been there for me since, and I know that even though we lost Trini, you guys won't leave. Trini wasn't just a Power Ranger, but she was our best friend. She was one of the most important people in my life. She still is. I remember one day after school, when she was the only one who came over to my house. It was a few weeks after we fought Rita, and she had just sat there for a few minutes watching me work. Eventually, she grabbed a breadboard and started to help me make the program I was working on that day. I've been trying to get it to work for what felt like years, but Trini was there and helped me. She got the biggest smile when it finally worked and I think that was the moment I knew Trini wasn't going anywhere, at least not for a long time,"

 

Billy paused, looking right at Kimberly before inhaling shakily, "Trini was the kindest, most gentle person I had ever met. She took care of all of us, and she helped us save Angel Grove multiple times. Angel Grove knew her as the Yellow Ranger, a hero. I didn't like to think Trini as just the Yellow Ranger, because it never seemed fair for her. Trini was always something so much more than just a Power Ranger. Even without her powers, she was a hero, and for me, that's something I'll never forget.”

 

Jason grabbed Billy’s arm, “You did good, Billy.” He tells him quietly, and Zack nods in agreement. 

 

“Yeah, Billy, that was really good. I’m glad you said that.”

 

Zack looked over at Kimberly, waiting. He nudges her shoulder when she doesn’t respond, trying to make eye contact with her, “You okay?” He whispered. Kimberly nodded quickly, not wanting to gain anymore attention. 

 

“It was perfect, Billy,” She told him, blinking furiously, wanting to hide her tears. She wouldn’t have minded crying in front of the boys- that was something that she could handle. They weren’t going to make her feel stupid for crying, but this time, she just didn’t _want_ to. She could feel the tears piling up, and the worst part was, she didn't want to cry. She had just wanted to tell Billy that he had done a good job, and that she knows it must have been hard for him. “Sounded like her.” She added, refusing to look at any of them. 

 

Zack  squeezed her into a hug. Jason gave her a small nod, and Billy gave her an unsure smile when she does look at them, “We love you,” They all chorused. 

 

“I love you guys, too.” Kimberly said, her voice small. An awkward silence had started to fall between them, all of them glancing over at Trini’s empty spot. Kimberly stood up suddenly, leaving Zack looking at her like a wounded animal, and Jason starting to say her name, but she cut him off. 

 

“I miss her,” Kimberly told them dumbly, “Like Billy said, I miss her. We _all_ do. And I thought that we were going to be lucky enough, that she’d still be here with us, but she’s not. I don’t care who I meet next. Trini was too fucking _good_ for this world and it took her away,” They were all watching her, mouths agape and shock in their eyes. “The first night after Rita? She came over to my house, calmed me down. We were in my room, and I kept her up all night. She just sat there, watching flick the lights on and off again. All night long. She didn’t even complain, god, she told me that I should flick the switch as many times as I needed. All night long, just me doing the same damn thing, and she was so understanding. And when I was finally able to go to bed, she just laid next to me, talking to me like I had asked her.” 

 

“And there was that one day at school,” Kimberly added, “When Trini showed up late, and I was just so worried about her because she wasn't answering any of my text messages, and she just looked at me, like I was insane for being worried about her. Can you believe that? She thought I didn’t really care. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and I still think Trini never believed me whenever I told her. She was too fucking good for this shitty place.” 

Kimberly hadn’t noticed that she was crying until Billy handed her a tissue, and Zack had pulled her down next to him, wiping her cheek, “She may be gone, but she’s still our crazy girl, alright? I promise.”

 

* * *

 

Jason called it a night after that. He drove all of them home, and Kimberly was greeted by her parents standing in the doorway, their arms crossed. “We got a call from Jason’s father, asking us if you kids were with us.” Her father said, “Do you have any idea how worried all of us were about you guys? You can’t just disappear like that. Where did you go?” 

 

“We’re fine. We just went for a drive to clear our heads.” 

 

“For almost three hours?” 

 

“Yeah, Dad, for almost three hours,” Kimberly told him, trying to hide her annoyance, “I’m going to take a shower, then to bed. Am I grounded for needing some space?” 

 

That shut him up. Kimberly felt a bit better after her shower, and it was when she was brushing her teeth when she noticed Trini’s familiar handwriting, behind the toothpaste on the shelf. Kimberly pushed everything off the shelf in a crash to the floor, her heart racing. 

 

_01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101111 01101011 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100001 01110101 01110100 01101001 01100110 01110101 01101100 00101100 00100000 01001011 01101001 01101101 01100010 01100101 01110010 01101100 01111001_

 

Kimberly had never noticed it before. Trini had used to leave her notes in Binary code all the time, but Kimberly could have _sworn_ that it wasn’t there this morning, or any of the previous days she had been in here. _Was she really that stupid? How long had it been there?_ Trini had to have written it with Kimberly knowing. Maybe with everything that had been going on, Kimberly had just forgotten. 

 

There was no way that Kimberly had forgotten. She would have never forgotten if the note was there. 

 

She raced into her room, her mother calling after her. Kimberly didn't answer. She had kept every note Trini left behind. After months of dating, and saving them, Kimberly was sure it was more than enough pages of Binary code to publish a book. She stored them all neatly in a binder she never used, a worn out, shitty thing. 

 

An- It wasn’t were she had left it, sitting in the middle of the dresser next to her bed, where her lamp was. She throws open her drawers, tearing out her extra phone charger and a few polaroids of her and Trini. She drops to the floor, looking underneath her bed, finding it spotless expect for the yellow box Jason had given her not even a fun three days ago. 

 

_“Kimberly!”_ Her father and mother are standing in the doorway of her room, looking down at her, “ _What the hell are you doing?”_

 

“N-nothing!” Kimberly stumbles as she gets back to her feet, opening the drawers that were filled with her clothes, “I’m just looking for something, I could have sworn that I left it the dresser next to my bed, but it’s not there, and I _really_ need it.” 

 

“Kimberly,” Her mom said gently, “It’s getting late. I’m sure whatever you’re looking for can wait until tomorrow.” 

 

“No, mom, you don’t understand,” Kimberly insists her voice quivering, “It was from Trini, and I… Mom, I don’t know what I’d do if I find out I lost it. I… It’s Trini, mom! I really need to find it tonight.” 

 

Kimberly hadn’t noticed that her dad was walking around her room, and appeared at her shoulder, holding out the green binder Kimberly was looking for. “Is this it?” He asked her quietly, resting a hand on her shoulder. 

 

“Y-yeah,” Kimberly whispered as tears blurred her vision, her father seeming surprised when she hugs him. “Thanks, Dad.” He let out a nervous chuckle, but didn’t hesitate to hug her back, kissing the top of her head. 

 

“Now that we know it’s safe, do you think you can sleep?” 

 

Her only response was a nod, and it must’ve been convincing enough, because both of her parents gave her reassuring smiles, her father kissed the top of her head again, and they turned off the light and closed the door behind them. 

 

She waits for a few seconds before switching the light back on, inhaling and exhaling slowly as she sits back down on her bed, opening the binder to the first page. 

 

_01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00101100 00100000 01001011 01101001 01101101 01100010 01100101 01110010 01101100 01111001 00100000 01001000 01100001 01110010 01110100 00101110 00100000_

 

 


	2. I've been staring at the hotel ceiling, drinking everything I've found this evening, Trying to hold onto the sweetest feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! 
> 
> First of all, I just wanted to apologize for the long wait for the second part of this story. All of your screaming in the comments has definitely helped me finish writing this story. I hope you guys enjoy this story just as much as I enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> And if you want to scream at me some more, you can message me on Tumblr at Trinisexual
> 
> Thank you for reading this story and showing your support, it means a lot!

_“Hey, guys? Where’s Trini?”_ _Zack’s voice sparkled to life in Kimberly’s ear. “Kimberly, can you see her up there?” He asks._

_“No. Jase, she said her zord has been acting up, was Alpha able to find anything on that?” Kimberly counters back. She can see Billy in his zord, furiously pushing at the buttons. She can’t help but let out a laugh at that. Billy has been the only one who has been able to work out more of the controls. The rest of them were still struggling to even control their zords._

_“Is she still in school?” Jason suggests, stopping his Zord suddenly as they near Krispy Kreme. “I doubt it, though. I mean, we all felt it.”_

_“The crystal is still here!” Billy says loudly, “Everything is the same as it was last time, everything is fine!”_

_Zack lets out a groan, and Kimberly can hear the roll of his eyes as he speaks, “Then why did we suddenly feel th-”_

_“Guys! Look!” Kimberly points to a dark figure at the end of the street._

_“Is that…”_

_“Lord Zedd. The crystal is still in trouble,” Jason says. “We have to make sure he doesn’t get it.”_

_“Is it just him?” Zack asks incredulously. “I mean, even just Rita is scarier than him. Doesn’t he have any minions or something? Maybe a few dumb pu-”_

_“Zack, shut up. You’re gonna ruin our luck.” Jason snaps, and Zack just sighs. Billy is still tapping away at his control pad, whispering to himself. Kimberly bites her lip. It’s not like Trini to disappear at a time like this. Trini usually would be in her zord and making some sarcastic comment about Zedd’s outfit. She has to push the worry down. Trini would show up eventually. She wouldn’t let them fend for themselves just because she’s mad at Kimberly._

_Kimberly watches as Jason hesitates to do anything, his zord turning to look at her. She gives him a shrug. Whatever happens, wherever Trini is, they’ll have to find a way to make up for her absence. Kimberly feels strange without seeing the Saber-Toothed Tiger Zord and Trini occasionally saying something._

_“Guys! Hey, I’m here!” Trini shouts._

_“Where the hell is your zord?” Zack and Jason ask in usion. Trini looks at Kimberly, her helmet pushed back. Kimberly gives her a small smile. She swallows nervously as Trini breaks their eye contact, looking at Jason._

_“It’s fucked up! I couldn’t even get into it, Alpha said he’s gonna try to see what’s wrong!” Trini looks down the street, finally noticing Zedd standing at the edge of the street, “How long has he been there?”_

_“We don’t know, he hasn’t moved. The crystal is fine. We’re waiting fo- What the fuck?” Jason lets out a string of curses as his Zord suddenly lurches forward, running right into Krispy Kreme. Kimberly watches as Jason fumbles with controls- she can see him physically lean back, pulling his remotes back with him, but his zord doesn’t stop._

_“Yo, bro! Stop it, dude! You’re wrecking th-”_

_“I’m trying to stop it!” Jason shouts at Zack, “It’s not letting me do anything! It’s not me, I swear!”_

_Kimberly flinches when she hears laughter ring in her ears, and suddenly, Lord Zedd is standing in front of them. And Trini- where’s Trini? “That would be  Her eyes grinned with delight._

_! He’s quite good at what he does, I like to believe.”_

_Even from here, Kimberly could see Zedd’s staff glowing. Kimberly doesn’t know where Trini went, or what she was planning, but she needed to_ see _her. Kimberly tries to pilot her zord, but no avail. Billy and Zack seemed to be frozen in place. Jason was still struggling to stop his zord from destroying Krispy Kreme, and she can faintly hear him in her earpiece- “Don’t let him get the crystal!”_

_Trini is in her vision again, throwing one of her daggers. Zedd laughs as it sticks out of his chest, having no effect. Kimberly can see the other dagger in Trini’s hand. She knew what Trini was thinking.  They had to kill him, before he got to the crystal, or he would find a way to kill them._

_“I can’t get out!” Zack says, “Our zords, they’re not ev-”_

_“Somebody needs to help Trini!” Kimberly cuts him off. She taps furiously at the keypad. She has to find a way out. Billy is trying to talk to Alpha through the system, trying to get any help._

_Zack punches his keyboard in anger, and they watch as Zedd raises his staff. Trini’s ready for it. Crash. The staff and her dagger meet. One came up, the other down. The racket was loud. Impressive displays flew about._

_“You can’t win,” He eyes grinned with delight. “Give me the crystal.”_

_“I don’t care what you want.” Trini counters back. Kimberly watches, frozen as Trini brings down her dagger. There was no way he would be able to recover in time. There was no way he’d be able to block Trini’s blow. She brought the weapon down. There was no way he could recover in time._

_He must have known what was coming. There was no way for Trini to recover when he rolled to the side. He swung up and slammed the hilt of her staff into her side. She went down, hitting the ground with a sharp rush of air._

_“How did he-”_

_“He can see everything!” Billy shouts at them, “Zordon says that he can see everything! We have to help her! Where’s Pirantishead?”_

_“Who?”_

_“Pirantishead! He’s the one controlling our zords! If we can get Trini away from Zedd and she-” Their connection breaks for a few seconds, the longest seconds of Kimberly’s life as she waits to hear Billy’s voice again. “We’ll be able to control our Zords again! Trini has to kill him!”_

_“Trini!” Kimberly shouts. “Did she hear us? Can she hear us?”_

_“What? Kim, I lost you for a few seconds!”_

_They all freeze when Zedd kicks her to the side carelessly. Kimberly watches helplessly as Trini starts to push herself back up- only for Zedd to hit the hilt of his staff against her temple. Kimberly flinches._

_“Can Trini hear us?” Kimberly asks desperately. “We… We gotta help her!”_

_Zedd stands over Trini, “Is there anything you have to say?”_

_“Please, don’t do this?” Trini sounds lost. She pauses, and Kimberly can hear her inhale sharply, “My friends will find a way to stop you,” Trini voice grows more confident, “They aren’t like the last ranger team you faught.”_

_“Trini! Hang on,” It’s Billy, “Find Pirantishead! Forget about Zedd! Trini?”_

_“Trini?” Kimberly tries. “Trini, babe, can you hear me? Trini!” There’s static in her ear piece, and then it dies. Nothing. Absolutely nothing._

_“Your friends can’t help you now,” Zedd says proudly. “They can’t even move!” Kimberly curses. It wasn’t fair that she could still hear_ him _. Zack is yelling. Billy is yelling, trying to get Jason’s attention. Zack is looking at her, still talking, but she can’t hear a single thing. She shouts something back at him, in hopes that maybe one of the boys can hear her. She doesn’t get a response, other than Zack closing his eyes and shaking his head._

_Trini looks smaller on the ground, glancing up at Kimberly again. Zedd’s staff glows again, and he raises it over his head. “Trini!” Kimberly punches a few buttons, desperate to find anything that works. The blade of his staff got closer, seeming to inch through eternity. When she felt the first sharp sting of the pain in her chest she knew that it was over. Her eyes fluttered and she tries to fight against the pain._

_Zedd is laughing again, “Pirantishead, let them go! They’re not much fun when they can’t put up a fight.” Zack’s zord lurches forward. Kimberly’s zord crashes to the ground, and Billy’s talking again in their earpieces. Jason is the first one out of his zord, stumbling and falling in front of Kim’s._

_“Kimberly, c’mon! Kimberly, get out of your zord. God-”_

“Kimberly! Billy is here!”

She jumps when she hears her mom from the other side of her door, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She looks over at the open binder, and shuts it before sliding it under her pillow. The empty feeling her chest seems to deepen. “I can tell him you’re not in the mood to talk to anyone right now?” Her mother offers, her voice quiet through the door.

 

“No, no, it’s okay. I’ll be there in a minute.” Kimberly replies, running her fingers through her hair. She had half expected Billy to not show up today.

 

The fabric of the jacket is soft. It brings back the day Billy had gotten them all matching jackets back to her mind like it was yesterday.

 

_"Hey, guys, guess what?" Billy says excitedly, slipping on the dirt as he comes to a sudden stop, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Trini and Kim glance at Jason. Billy was never late for training, except for today. They had tried to assure Jason that Billy was fine and that something had held him up. The Blue Ranger wasn't the type to let people worry. There was no way he had forgotten. Zack was also missing, and there was a good chance that the two of them were together._

 

_Kim gives Jason a warning look. Jason can worry about Billy, that was fine, but they didn't need to accidentally make Billy feel bad for being a few minutes late. "What, Billy?" Jason settles for, giving him a smile._

 

_"I got us matching jackets!" Billy nearly shouts as he un-shoulders his backpack. Zack comes in, grinning like an idiot. "Okay, so they're not really matching jackets since they're all of our colors, but I thought it'd be cool if we all had the same kind of jacket." Billy explains._

 

_"Yeah, guys, look!" Zack says happily, gesturing to his jacket. "Billy got me a new jacket!"_

 

_"Okay, Jason's, here's yours, and Kim..." Jason and Kim both accept his gift with smiles, and Billy turns to Trini quickly, "And here's yours. It's not the exact same shade as your suit, I kept looking but I couldn't find it so my mom helped me pick out this one." Billy explains quickly as hands Trini her jacket, and she just smiles._

 

_"Hey, don't worry about it," Trini tells him as she puts it on eagerly, "I love it, Billy. It's really cool. Thanks."_

 

_Billy smiles, clearly happy that Trini has still accepted his gift._

 

_They don't train that day, getting distracted by their new insanely cool jackets. They might be just jackets but Billy definitely picked the best ones. Alpha desperately tries to get them to stay in the cave and train for a little bit, shouting something about how even though they're Power Rangers, they still need to practice their skills. After successfully ignoring him, Billy excitedly asks them if they want to go see a movie before he has to go home for the night._

 

_They decide to go see a movie. Trini falls asleep halfway through, her head resting on Kim's shoulder. Zack rolls his eyes and mutters something to himself when he notices, and frowns when Kim kicks him in the shin. Kim hesitantly wakes up Trini once the movie finishes._

 

_"Jeez, Kim, stop looking at Trini like she's the greatest person ever," Zack groans when they're all shoved into a booth at a cafe. "It's disgusting. I'm going to throw up."_

 

_"Do you need to go see a doctor?" Billy asks. Jason just smiles and shakes his head, explaining to Billy that Zack was joking._

 

_"Fuck off," Trini mumbles against Kimberly's neck, giving Zack the middle finger. "You're just mad that your girlfriend will never be as cute as mine."  Five milkshakes are placed in front of them, and they all thank their waitress, who just gives them a silent nod. Trini smiles as Zack frowns again, and Billy dives into his milkshake._

 

_Zack opens his mouth to reply to Trini, but when he looks at them again, Trini and Kim are giggling over something Kimberly had said, and he rolls his eyes as he starts to enjoy his milkshake. It was impossible to be annoyed by the two of them, especially seeing how happy they are together._

 

_"Hey," All five heads turn towards the voice. Trini recognizes him as one of the boys who goes to Angel Grove. He wasn't necessarily a bully, but he definitely did have a big mouth. Zack immediately frowns, Jason's jaw is clenched, a tell-tale sign his ready to defend Billy if needed, and Kim's grip on her hand tightens._

 

_"What do you want?" Zack asks sourly as a girl appears next to the boy's side. They're all preparing themselves for some offense comments- something their group tend to get sometimes during the school day. Trini decides to distract herself by taking a sip of her milkshake._

 

_"Nothing, man, it's just that with your jackets and all, you guys look like the Power Rangers."_

 

_Trini spits out her milkshake in surprise, choking on it, and Kimberly looks at her, concerned as Zack just snickers at that, and Billy laughs nervously. "Yeah, man, we can dream," Jason says, the only one of them who was able to keep their composure. "There's no way we're superheroes."_

 

_The boy laughs at that, "Yeah, man, you're right. You guys would be the the worst superheroes ever." He walks away as quietly as he came, and all five of them are left glaring at him for a few moments._

 

_"What the hell does that mean?" Trini grumbles, "Let's see him trying to save the world."_

 

_"We were a bit dysfunctional at first," Jason says, pondering the idea, "But I mean, we're not that bad, are we?"_

 

_"Man, I think you're forgetting you're the red ranger," Zack says quietly, shaking his head, "He just thinks we're not good enough because he's an asshole. Let's finish up and get Billy home, yeah?"_

 

_They all nod in agreement, still slightly upset at what the boy had said. Jason reminds them to not let it get to them, even though it clearly has Jason second-guessing himself as well. Trini drives all of them home, since Jason's truck is still being worked on, and well, Billy hasn't been gifted with a car since the crash._

 

_Billy thanks Trini only about a hundred times before he's even in the door, and then his mom, Candace thanks her some more. Trini reminds both of them that it's not a big deal, that she'd be glad to drive Billy home at any time. Zack and Jason tell both of the girls to be careful when Trini drops them off, causing Trini to roll her eyes._

 

* * *

 

Kimberly has decided she _hates_ the color white.

 

She hates that unlike all the other colors, it just seems to refuse to _pop_. It seems to want to do anything but get her attention. Kimberly remembers reading somewhere that the psychological meaning of white is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion. That white's the color of new beginnings, like wiping the slate clean; a blank canvas just waiting to be written on.

 

And maybe to some people, white did have that effect on them, making them want to start over and wipe _their_ slates clean and rewrite their own story. Maybe some people are inspired by white and it reminds them of what's innocent and the things that make their life complete.

 

To Kimberly, it was just a color that she's being forced to look at as she sits in the chair across from the school counselor, tapping her fingers on the table nervously as she waits for the counselor to arrive.

 

The school counselor should really reconsider painting her walls to a happier color, like pink. At least pink was associated with happier things, like compassion. Pink as a color gave off energy. Kimberly looks down at the paper slip in her hand, reading over it again.

 

_Student: Kimberly Hart_

 

_Reason for call: Counseling_

 

_Time: immediately_

 

Kimberly sighs and runs her fingers through her hair, looking around the room. There was one photograph in the corner of the desk, facing the opposite direction. Some papers are spread out along the side desk, a few file cabinets open. A white mug sits on the windowsill where rain is tapping against the glass gently. The white curtain was pushed to the side, giving Kimberly the perfect few of the student school parking lot, where a few kids were walking to their cars. Most likely going home for lunch, or for an off period. She can see Jason's truck, all new and shining, soaking in all of it's glory. It had taken Jason months before his car was even able to turn on again. Billy and Jason had spent the entire summer pouring work into it. Kimberly looks away, not wanting her thoughts to wander and her eyes land on the white teddy bear sitting on the left corner of the window sill.

 

 _God,_ she thinks miserably. _Is there one thing in this room that's not white?_

 

She figures that the teddy bear is a half-hearted attempt to make the room seem cheerful. All it did was remind her more of the waiting room in a hospital. White walls, bland chairs, and a few scattered magazines and toys for entertainment, a pathetic attempt in trying to make their customers happy. There's no way that anyone who spends more that five minutes in a white room is _happy._

 

If the school counselor was trying to make her office happy, the least she could have done was paint her walls yellow. Yellow is the brightest color of the visible spectrum, and it is the most noticeable of all colors by the human eye. At least then, the office would seem more like a cheerful place. Maybe it’s just Kimberly’s biased opinion.

 

The door swings open, and the counselor walks in, holding a few papers in her hand, giving Kimberly a smile when she notices that Kimberly is watching. Kimberly doesn’t respond. She sits down wordlessly, accepting Kimberly’s silence for the meantime.

“How’s your day so far?” The counselor asks, staring at Kimberly. Kimberly looks anywhere but the counselor’s expectant face, leaning forward on her elbows, like she’s waiting for Kimberly to share a secret. Kimberly stares at the nameplate with _Mrs. Oliver_ engraved. Kimberly makes the connection easy enough. Tommy Oliver’s mom was the new school counselor.

 

Kimberly doesn’t have a problem with Tommy Oliver, don’t get her wrong. He’s fine. Some days he’s more bearable than others. Tommy Oliver wasn’t anything special. He was just the boy who took Trini’s spot in Biology, he was just the confident boy who smirked at her whenever he caught her looking over her shoulder. He was the new football star; had Angel Grove wrapped around his finger.

 

He wasn’t _that_ great. He was an idiot who came to Angel Grove and filled spots in her life that Kimberly didn't want to be filled.

 

The dismissal bell rings, and Kimberly sighs to herself. Usually, she’d be spending the five minute passing period talking to Trini on their way to biology. She’s lucky today, in the sense that she won’t have to walk in the halls alone.

 

Mrs. Oliver doesn't take Kimberly’s silence for an answer, sighing herself as she leans back in her chair. “Well, why don’t we start with something easier? How’s your week going?”

 

 _Terrible. Thanks for asking, though. Means a lot._ Kimberly starts to tap her foot on the floor. _First day back at school, and she’s still everywhere. But you know how it is. I’m fine._

 

“Your parents contacted me. They said they’re worried about your behavior at home.”

_We still don’t talk much, so that’s not much different. Is it because Trini’s never over anymore or that I won’t leave my room? Or that I haven’t done my homework or cleaned up my room?_

 

“Kimberly. Not talking will make this more difficult than it needs to be,” Mrs. Oliver says with a exasperated sigh. Kimberly peels her eyes off the wall, finally looking at her. “I’ll make you a deal, okay? You say one thing that’s made you happy in the last week, and I’ll let you go to class.”

 

Kimberly laughs at that humorlessly, running her fingers through her hair again, “It’s been a really shitty month.”

 

“There has to be at least _one_ thing that made you happy. Even if it was only for a few moments, Kimberly.”

 

Kimberly shakes her head slightly. There was nothing that’s managed to make her feel even a little happy since Trini has died. She thinks about it for a few seconds. Billy did get a smile out of her when he tripped over one of the steps earlier today. But that didn’t make her happy, that was just Billy being his normal self and it didn’t really fill the hole burning in her chest. She thinks back to Billy stopping by her house and dropping off Trini’s yellow jacket.

 

“Billy came by my house the other day,” Kimberly forces out, “We hung out for a while, it was good.”

 

“That’s good. What’d you guys do?”

 

“We talked. He brought me a jacket I left at his house. Nothing important.”

 

Mrs. Oliver leans forward on her elbows, and Kimberly lets her gaze fall back onto the teddy bear. She hears Mrs. Oliver ask a question- sounds that she barely comprehends. She looks at her yellow peeling nail polish, stares at her feet. She can’t bring herself to say anything else. The boys were starting to worry about her- they already did, but she could tell that they worry more than usual now. Jason picks her up for school, Zack waits for her outside of her math class at the end of the day, Billy shows up at her house after school with an excuse for them to hang out. Like clockwork.

 

After ten minutes that feel like hours, Mrs. Oliver sighs, “Here. I have a deal. I’ll let you go to biology now, and you have to come back on Friday. You have to check in with me on Tuesdays and Fridays. How does that sound?”

 

“That’s fine,” Kim says flatly, “Can I go to class now?”

 

Her teacher doesn’t complain when she shows up twenty minutes late. Everyone glances at her nervously, and she silently sits down in her seat. She looks over her shoulder, only to find that Tommy Oliver is staring at her, tapping his pen against the desk. He gives her a smile.

Kim turns her attention back to the packet her teacher put on her desk, and writes her name sloppily. Her jaw clenches and she tells herself that it’s not a big deal that Tommy has taken Trini’s spot. It’s not like he knew, anyways.

 

* * *

 

 

_The first time Kimberly saw Trini write Binary, they were in the back of their biology class, with some documentary droning on in the background with their desks pushed together, her hand resting on Trini's knee, kissing the ticklish spot behind Trini’s ear._

 

_“What’s that?” Kimberly asks when she leans back, and Trini slams her notebook shut._

 

_“Nothing.”_

 

_“Writing me a love letter or something?”_

 

_Trini scoffs, “You wish, Hart.”_

_Kimberly laughs at that, “You know, you’re supposed to be taking notes on this video.” She whispers as their teacher looks up from his book. He glares at them for a second before he goes back to reading._

 

_“Yeah, says the girl who can’t keep her hands to herself.”_

 

_“I missed you this weekend,” Kimberly whines as Trini rolls her eyes. “Besides, you’re a lot more interesting than the video.”_

 

_“You sound like a teenage boy right now.”  Trini says with a laugh._

 

_“I’m serious!” Kimberly frowns as Trini looks at her, shaking her head. “Do you have any idea how boring my weekend was without you?”_

 

_“Get used to it, Hart. I have to babysit my brothers this weekend.”_

 

_Kimberly grumbles and leans back in her seat. Trini doesn’t even bother to look back at her as she opens her notebook again, hovering over it as she writes aggressively. Kimberly resists the urge to look over Trini’s shoulder again. Her self control lasts a few seconds as she leans forward again._

 

_“You know that I can’t understand Binary code, right?”_

 

_Trini snorts at that, “Kimmy, you’re telling me that your dad majored in computer science and you still don’t know Binary? It’s only the most important code ever. How else would your computer work?”_

 

_“Not everybody is a nerd like you, miss ‘I know five different coding languages fluently’. Besides, my dad never tried to teach me.”_

 

_“Kim, he bought you a book on the basics of coding for your birthday.”_

 

_“Okay, you got me there…” Kimberly admits, “But I did look at it for a bit. It just bored me. Anyways, are you going to tell me what that says?” Kimberly asks, nodding to piece of paper Trini was covering._

 

_“Nope. You can keep it, though,” Trini says as she folds it and puts it into Kimberly’s hands, “Read it once you figure out how to read Binary.”_

 

_Kimberly unfolds the paper in her hands as the lights flicker back to life and their teacher starts droning on._

  


_Trini gives her a smile as they dismissal bell rings, cutting their teacher off. Kimberly shoves the note into her bag and follows Trini out the door into the crowded hallway. “Will you tell me now?”_

 

_Trini just laughs and grabs her hand. “You’re smart enough to figure it out yourself.”_

* * *

 

The hallways feel empty without Trini.

 

Before Kimberly met Trini, the halls of Angel Grove were boring and dark. They used to remind her of the counselor office, the walls white and bland. The lockers seemed to be thrown on the walls in a halfhearted attempt to make it look more appealing. The halls were definitely the worst part of Angel Grove. Everyone looked at Kim the same way, all of them with the same look in their eyes.

 

After all, Kimberly was _just_ a cheerleader. Cheerleaders only got one look from their peers. All of the boys seemed to want to know her. All of the girls wanted to be like her. Truth was, Kimberly hated who she was until she became the Pink Ranger. She hated that everybody seemed to know everything about her- even it wasn’t the truth.

 

But after she met Trini, the halls seemed better. Suddenly the halls weren't some dark, crowded place Kimberly dreaded walking through, but they seemed to glow and whenever Trini smiled at her, Kim felt like she was going to combust, or do something stupid like trip over someone’s backpack and embarrass herself.

 

Trini never looked at her the way everyone else in Angel Grove did. To be fair, none of her fellow Rangers did, but Trini was so _different_ . It was like Trini thought Kimberly was the greatest thing she’s ever seen. Every time Trini saw her, she used to get the biggest smile and bounced on the balls of her feet. It was so different to the first few times Kimberly had met Trini- it was hard to believe that the same girl who barely looked at her, or went out of her way to _not_ talk to her was also the same girl who reminded her of an excited puppy when she saw her.

 

Kimberly had spent her day blindly dragging her feet from class to class, and spent the entire hour and half in Biology fighting back tears as she glanced at Trini’s seat- a seat that was filled with another student. Kim had done her best to not yell at him- because it wasn’t _his_ fault that she couldn’t accept the fact that Trini wasn’t going to come into class late and give the teacher a sheepish shrug and Kim a small smile before going to her seat. It wasn’t his fault that the teacher had the need to fill Trini’s seat.

 

The halls were dark again. And empty. They were filled with nothing but blank stares and whispers. Not they didn't happen before, but she can tell that the students are surprised that she’s back in school. Kim’s surprised herself. Jason and Zack had tried to get her out of bed before Billy had pleaded- Kim could never say no to Billy.

 

Trini wasn’t at her shoulder as soon as the dismissal bell rang. Trini wasn’t looking away, getting flustered as Kimberly takes hold of her hand. Instead, it’s a random student mumbling an apology as they bump shoulders- the same boy- Tommy Oliver- who took Trini’s spot.

 

Kimberly nods in acknowledgement. She didn’t trust herself to say anything- not anymore, at least. He looks genuinely sorry- his eyebrows knitting together in concern as he looks down at her. And Kimberly knows that _he_ knows. It’s not a surprise to her. Everybody knows. All of Angel Grove had suddenly started to talk about Trini after she died- like they _knew_ her and it made Kim sick. They were still the same kids who used to write the rude notes on Trini lockers- the same kids who snickered and laughed the first time her and Trini had walked in the halls holding hands.

 

They didn’t give a damn- and Kim didn’t give a damn about them. Especially not this new Tommy kid, who was still looking at her with his green eyes, frowning at bit, looking over his shoulder as they pass. He offers a small wave, one that Kimberly doesn’t return as she looks away.

 

Kim doesn't walk to her locker. She hasn’t done her homework in weeks, and she wasn’t going to waste time grabbing a textbook she wasn’t even going to open. She didn’t have the motivation or the patience to do it anymore. She walks past Billy’s locker, not surprised to see that Jason is there with him, both of them bent over something that Billy was proudly showing off. They don’t notice her. She doesn’t bother taking the hall to her math class. Instead, she takes the left turn after Zack’s locker and freezes.

 

Kim hasn’t been in school for two weeks. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see when she walked by Trini’s unused locker again, but she certainly didn’t expect it to be wide open, one of the custodians holding a box as the principal, Mr. Corr watches over him. Her throat tightens- the way it does whenever she gets angry, and her hands ball into fists.

 

 _It’s nothing,_ Kimberly tells herself. _It’s just a damn locker, and it doesn’t matter._

 

Except it _does_ matter.

 

It was Trini’s locker, and it will _always_ be Trini’s locker. Kim can see the Saber-Toothed Tiger she had drew in the corner a few days after they defeated Rita. It had started to fade, but it still stared at Kim with crooked eyes, one of it’s fangs longer than the other. Kimberly never thought that something as stupid and simple as a locker could mean so much, but was _Trini’s_ locker, and Trini had made all the little things count. She wasn’t going to let Mr. Corr decide that it wasn’t Trini’s anymore. Kim could care less about whoever needed it.

 

Kim barely notices the small crescent shaped indents in her palms that were bleeding. Her feet carry her- she can hear her sneakers squeaking on the floor in the empty hall- and her principal glances up at her- his mouth pressed into a thin line.

 

He doesn’t say anything- neither does the custodian as she slams the locker shut. The bang that follows echoes in the empty hall, and Kimberly can see the custodian flinch out of the corner of her eye. She feels surprisingly calm- considering that a second ago she had the feeling that she was going to snap.

 

“Kimberly.” Mr. Corr says sternly, looking nervous as he glances over at the custodian, who was awkwardly looking at his feet, the box hanging limply at his side. He looked like a guilty dog, afraid to look at her. Kimberly wonders if he’s ever had to clean out a locker before. A dead student’s locker, at least.

 

“You’re not cleaning out her locker.”

 

“ _Kimberly_ ,” Mr. Corr repeats, a warning tone in his voice. Kimberly finds that she doesn't care- it wouldn’t be the first time she’s gotten into trouble with him. It’s not like he _understood_ . None of them did. Not the counselor Kimberly had to talk to, her parents, none of the students seemed to understand. And it wasn’t _fair._ “Another student needs this locker.”

 

“That’s bullshit,” Kimberly spits- her parents are going to _kill_ her when the school calls them about this. She couldn’t bring herself to care. It certainly wasn't the first time her parents had received a phone call, anyways. “There’s almost a hundred of lockers here that aren’t used. Since the seniors are gone.”

 

“Mrs. Hart, please. I understand that this hard for you, bu-”

 

“You were just going to throw her stuff out?”

 

Kimberly wasn't expecting another voice. Kimberly whips around and sees Billy and Jason standing closely together, Billy looking at Mr. Corr in confusion. Jason looks like he’s ready to tell Billy that they _have_ to clean it out, that it’s what happens when someone dies. Kimberly prepares herself to hear it. It feels like that Jason has handled losing Trini the best; that was his job. He’s the Red Ranger. Billy opens his mouth to say something, but Jason beats him to it.

 

“At least let Billy and Kim look through it first, Mr. Corr. Please.” Jason pleads.

 

Jason glances at her, and gives her a small nod. Mr. Corr looks between her and Billy before sighing and looking at the custodian, “Let them in. It can’t hurt.”

 

Billy looks in it before Kimberly does. For a few moments that feel like lifetimes, they stand shoulder to shoulder silently as the custodian opens it again. Kimberly finds herself staring at Billy’s blue sneakers, knowing that the inside of Trini’s locker looked the same as it did the last time Kimberly had saw it. Trini’s calculus book was going to be resting on the shelf, one of her graded tests between the pages. There was going to be an picture of all of them crammed into Jason’s truck, a picture Jason’s mom had somehow managed to take without any of them noticing.

 

Billy’s sneakers squeak on the tiles when he takes a small step closer, and Kimberly peels her eyes from the floor when Billy nudges her shoulder gently, and Kimberly hesitates for a second before she looks into Trini’s locker.

 

She was right. Trini’s locker looked exactly the same the last time she saw it. Kimberly can’t help but feel disappointed. She had gotten the feeling that _something_ had changed. The only thing that did change was that Trini wasn’t using the locker anymore, and that it’s been sitting here in the hallway, unused for weeks, collecting dust.

 

Kimberly grabs Trini’s calculus textbook wordlessly, and carefully starts to peels the picture off the door. She can feel all four sets of eyes on her, and her throat feels dangerously dry as she searches for something to say, empty words that don’t have any _true_ meaning.

 

When the picture comes off, Kimberly bites her lip- she had expected the paint behind the photograph to be the same pale blue, and it was, but it wasn't blank anymore. In black ink, there’s a code staring up at her.

 

_01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110010 01110010 01111001 00100000_

 

There’s a warm hand on her shoulder. She whips around, only to find that it’s Jason giving her a small, crooked smile. It feels like he’s trying to tell her that it’s going to be okay, that he’s sorry, even though she’s told him multiple times that she doesn't want to hear it. Jason wordlessly gestures towards the end of the hall, encouraging her to move.

 

She glances at Trini’s writing again, grabbing a pen in her shaking hands, quickly writing down the message herself on the back of Trini’s test. Billy frowns when he notices it himself, looking briefly at Kim before looking back at the line of code.

 

He looks as confused as she feels, but is silent as Jason guides them both down the hall. Billy’s silence is what bothers her the most- Billie usually spoke what was on his mind- constantly voicing his thoughts when he was confused or upset- and the fact that Billy was clearly mulling around in his own thoughts, glancing at Kimberly every few seconds.

 

Zack’s already waiting by Jason’s truck when they reach it. He looks at Kimberly, gives her a smile and a wave before his gaze drops to Trini’s textbook in her hands.  

 

“Yo boss, what are we doing?” Zack asks as he jumps into the trunk, smiling widely, “Movie night? We need it, dude.”

 

Billy frowns, “We had movie night yesterday.”

 

“I’ll let you pick, Bill.” Zack assures him, shrugging Billy’s comment off. His smile fades, “My mom… I can’t be there tonight.” He mumbles, looking at Kimberly again. Kim throws her stuff into the backseat as Billy and Jason get in the front. She can feel Jason’s eyes on her in his review mirror as she climbs into the trunk with Zack.

 

“Hey there, Princess.” Zack says, grabbing her hand.

 

“Hey there,” Kimberly mumbles back, resting her head on his shoulder. He feels colder than usual, and Kimberly knows he had spent his day near the mines. His fingers tap nervously at her wrist as Jason speeds out the parking lot. She feels the sharp intake of breath as he sighs. “They emptied out her locker today.”

 

“I know,” Zack whispers, tilting his head to look at her, “You alright with that?”

 

Kimberly bites her lip, hesitating to answer as she thinks back to how Jason had stopped her from saying anything stupid to their principal, “I’m fine. It’s just a locker.”

 

“Well, yeah, I know that,” Zack says quietly, “But it was hers. You two loved that locker.”

 

“It’s just a locker.” Kimberly snaps.

 

Zack frowns, gives her a small nod and leans back. He taps at her wrist again, and she wants to ask him if he’s doing okay, but it dies in her throat as he presses a kiss to her temple, “I love you,” He says, and Kimberly has to blink back tears as she nods, acknowledging him. “And it’ll get easier. I promise.”

 

Jason slows to a stop as he parks in his driveway, Zack gives her another smile, grabs her hand and hops out the trunk, dragging her through Jason’s front door, and both of them wave to Jason’s mom and sister as they go up to Jason’s room. Kimberly can hear Billy stopping to talk to Pearl behind them, Jason sounding annoyed as his mother asks him a question.

 

Zack throws the door open to Jason’s room, and both of them freeze, “Holy shit,” Zack says. “His room… It’s _clean_.”

 

Kimberly punches his shoulder as she pushes past him, “Shut up, Zack. It’s not _that_ clean.” It’s a lie. They’re used to tripping over something or Jason’s walls being decorated with posters.

 

“Kimberly, his room used to look like a pack rat nest,” Zack grumbles as he looks at Jason’s dresser, and freezes. “What the hell is this?”

 

“What? Let me see.”

 

Zack shrugs as she stands next to him, holding up a red sticky note. Kimberly’s hands are sweaty as she reaches for it.

 

_01001011 01101001 01101101 00101100 00100000 01100111 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110000 01110010 01101111 01101101 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01101101 01100101 00111111 00100000_

“Yo, Kimberly? What does that mean?”

 

“I-I…I don’t know, Zack. I gotta go.” Kimberly says quickly as she shoves the sticky note into her pocket. She gives him a forced smile as she pushes past him, ignoring the way her name pushes through his throat, shaky. She runs into Jason’s solid chest.

 

“Kimberly…?”

 

“I gotta go, Jase. Thanks for the ride. Bye, Billy!” She mumbles quickly as she passes them in the hall, brushing off Jason’s hand, and Billy’s concerned look. All three call after her as she flies down the stairs, shouting a thanks to Jason’s mom. She grabs her bag from the backseat of Jason’s car.

 

Jason’s behind her, calling her name, grabbing her arm, “God damn it, Kimberly. Just _talk_ to us!” He’s giving her that look, the one he always gives her when he’s not sure what he should do or say. “Kimmy, we have to stay together. Whatever is bothering you, we can… We can try to fix it, alright?”

 

She looks over his shoulder and sees that Billy and Zack are watching them from the front steps. She looks back up at Jason, his lips curling into a small, hopeful smile. His grip on her arm tightens before he lets go.

 

“I have to go home,” Kimberly tells him, “I promise everything is okay. I just promised my parents I would come home right after school.”

 

“Oh.” Jason sounds defeated, “Okay. You sure you don’t want me to drive you home?”

 

“It’s a ten minute walk. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. Text me when you get home, yeah?”

 

She nods, and he sighs as she walks away. She looks back over at them, half expecting for Zack to yell after her, but him and Billy just wave before Jason pulls them inside.

Her dad is cooking dinner when she gets home. She drops her things at the door with a crash, causing her mom to look up from the mail, and her dad from the stove. They both give her big smiles. Her mother starts to say something, but Kimberly cuts her off before she even gets the chance.

 

“You’re making me do therapy sessions?”

 

“Kim, we can explain, okay? Ju-”

 

“You want me to talk to someone I don’t know. About _what_ , exactly? I’m fine. I-I… Look, I don’t need to talk to the school counselor. I’ve been distracted lately, yeah. That’s all.”

 

Silence falls between all three of them. Her father turns off the stove, pinches the bridge of his nose as he sighs. Her mother stares at her, and Kim taps her fingers against her leg nervously, waiting. She refuses to meet her mother's gaze. Just when she’s about to decide that the quiet is too much, her father speaks.

 

“Kimberly, you haven’t talked to us since Trini died,” Her dad says gently, “You need the help.”

 

What _was_ there to say? She’s never been able to say the right words since Trini died. Her parents never _asked_. Kimberly hasn't cut herself off completely. They lurked at every corner and waited for her to need them. The boys were enough to help her cope.

 

“What do you want me to say?” Kimberly asks, her throat scratchy. “That everything’s okay? You know I can’t do that.”

 

“What we want is for you to talk. Just say something. Anything. We know that everything isn’t okay. We just want you to know that it’s okay to talk about things.”

 

Kimberly sighs, “They emptied out her locker today,” she shrugs, “I have her textbook. I couldn’t stand to see them throw it out.”

Her parents look at her blankly, and she nervously waits for their response, and her dad smiles lightly, “Her calculus book?”

 

Kimberly nods, “Yeah. She got an 96% on the last test she took.”

 

“Sounds like Trini.” Her father says with a nod. Kimberly smiles at that, a real smile that she doesn’t have to force, a smile that doesn't make her feel guilty for putting on. Her father was right. It was like Trini to pass a calculus test with ease.

 

Kimberly stares at the binder on her bed. She spent the past few hours sitting through a painfully quiet dinner with her parents, and listening to them watch some old horror movie as she tried to do her homework in the kitchen, like her parents requested. By the time she finally managed to finish her AP psychology homework, her father stood at the edge of the kitchen and told her good night in a quiet voice as she slammed her book shut.

 

She wishes that she got rid of the binder. Kimberly wishes that it wasn't so hard for her to open a binder. It’s not even that big of a deal, is it? All it is some notes left behind by Trini. Nothing more. She shouldn’t be losing sleep over something so _simple._

 

She stares at the binder for a few long minutes, and sighs before opening it.

* * *

 

 

_The second time Kimberly saw Trini write Binary Code was when they were alone in Kimberly’s room. They had spent the entire afternoon in Kim’s bed, worn out from training at the mine. Kim was running her fingers through Trini’s hair, Trini’s head resting on her chest. Trini’s breath was slow and steady, so Kim had thought that she had fallen asleep._

 

_She was surprised when Trini suddenly lifted her head to look at her, “Do you mind if I write on your arm?”_

 

_"Wha- yeah, sure. You can write whatever you want." Kimberly responded, chuckling when Trini's face lights up. Trini pulls out a sharpie, her hair falling in her face as she concentrates on Kim's forearm, carefully writing perfectly placed zeroes and ones._

 

_Kim watches intensely, running her fingers through Trini's hair again, letting her fingers find the nape of her neck as Trini continues to write. Trini clearly put thought into what she decided to write. Kim smiled when Trini counts off her fingers, mouthing numbers to herself as she makes sure she places the one in the correct spot._

 

_"It's tricky, from memory," Trini explains as she glances up, locking eyes with Kim for a few seconds before turning her attention back to what seems to be the final line of code. "You read it from right to left."_

 

_Trini leans back a bit, proud of her work. Kim looks at her arm, each individual line a mess of numbers she can't even begin to understand. Trini looks so happy and proud, looking down at it again._

 

_01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101_

 

_"One of these days, you're going to teach me." Kimberly tells her girlfriend, and her girlfriend laughs._

 

_"What's the fun in that?" Trini asks, her fingers tracing Kim's forearm. "It'll be more fun if you figure it out yourself, I promise."_

 

_Kimberly ponders it for a while, and accepts that Trini won't teach her binary. At least not today. It won't stop her from asking constantly for the next few days. "Can I at least know what it says?"_

 

_"Hmm... No."_

 

_Kim frowns, "Pretty please?"_

 

_"No, if I tell you, you'll cheat. You can figure it out." Trini insists, and Kimberly glances back down at her arm. There was a good chance that she wouldn't be able to figure it out by herself. Her eyes already hurt and her brain was the most confused it's been since she took her stupid pre-calc class._

 

_"Ask my dad?"_

 

_"Nope. Old fashioned, you can borrow some of my books if you want."_

 

_"Ugh. Fine." Kim settles with, still frowning. Trini gives her a quick kiss. When Trini pulls away, Kim knows that it's time for her to go home. Trini's parents have been more flexible that her and Trini had anticipated, but they hated it when Trini came home late._

 

_"I gotta go, you know how my mom is," Trini says quietly. They both glance down at Kimberly's arm, almost as if they had expected Trini's note to be gone._

 

_"Or... You could tell her you're hanging out with Zack tonight," Kim whispers, running her fingers through Trini's hair again, causing Trini to let out a small sigh of content. "Stay here with me. Have some dinner, maybe write some more codes..."_

 

_Kim trails off as Trini's lips find her neck, leaving small, gentle kisses, "You know, you had me convinced at us having dinner together." Trini mumbles into her ear._

 

_"I was letting you know that coding would be a cool bonus."_

 

_Trini laughs at that, "You're acting like coding is my most favorite thing ever. Which, as a matter of fact, it’s not.”_

 

_Later that night, when her and Trini are eating dinner with her parents, her father immediately strikes up a conversation with Trini. He asks her which types of codes she knows, glancing at Kim's arm. Trini gives him a list, the tips of her ears red as she says, "From what I understand you know just about any kind of code."_

 

_Kim's dad laughs at that, "Yeah, I do. Kimberly’s never been interested,” He gestures to Kim’s arm, “I’m assuming you haven’t told her what it says?”_

 

_Trini laughs nervously, the tips of her ears growing red as she looks at Kim, “No, I haven't told her.”_

 

_“Well, she’ll find out soon enough.” He says, giving Kim a playful wink. Kim rolls her eyes, knowing that once Trini leaves, he’s most likely going to ask her if she’d ever be interested in learning._

 

_“If she ever learns.” Trini teases._

 

_“Hey! I will, I swear! It’s not my fault you didn’t tell me you know code until a few weeks ago!” She defends, crossing her arms, “Maybe if you’d tell me what it means.”_

 

_“There’s no fun in that!” Trini and her dad exclaim in unison, and Kimberly groans as her mother laughs._

 

_Later that night, when they were sitting on the couch with her parents and watching some stupid tv show, Trini looked at her with awe that Kimberly has never seen before. Kimberly handed her a sharpie, and Trini broke out into a huge grin. Wordlessly, without even hesitating, Trini grabbed her arm gently and wrote._

 

_01011001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101101 01100001 01111010 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000_

 

_Kimberly couldn't help it. She giggled like an eight year old and kissed Trini right next to her parents, and they didn't seem to mind. Trini whispered something, tapped the inside of her wrist and couldn't kiss her back because she was smiling too much._

 

_Trini had to go home that night, mumbling something about how her mom would notice if she was missing. She didn’t leave without reminding Kim, “Don’t forget to check the Binary out,” Trini said over her shoulder, “Besides, you’ll want to know what it says.”_

 

* * *

 

 

That night, her and the boys end up going to a party.

She was sitting on Tommy Oliver’s back porch, listening to Jason as he ranted over something that had happened during school. She crumbles her empty can and flings it at his head and he blocked it easily. Jason huffed, sitting down in one of the plastic chairs as a few kids pushed past them and into the living room, “We haven’t gone to a party in a long time,” Jason says, and Kimberly hums in agreement. “The last time I was at a party, I didn’t even know you.” He adds.

 

Kimberly laughs, “I think you waved at me,” She remembered the last party she went to well. It was the same night had sent those pictures to Ty. A few weeks before Billy found their coins. “Then you just turned around and played beer pong for the rest of the night.”

 

Jason shakes his head, smiling widely, “I tried to talk to you that night. You weren’t listening…” He trails off, “Hey. I think Trini was at that party!”

 

Kimberly scoffs, kicking at another can at her feet, “Trini’s not antisocial but there’s _no way_ she was at that party. She rather just drink with us and you know it.”

 

Jason frowns, “Yeah, but this was before she even knew us. Who knows,” He shrugs then, running his fingers through his hair, then holding his hands out to her, “Be a lamb and help me up, Hart.”

 

He grabs her hands before she can say no, and she pulls him up. He lets out a small laugh, and smells like cheap beer. Jason winces a bit when he puts some pressure on his leg, and Kimberly grips his arm. She looks down at his leg, his brace wrapped tightly around his knee. “Has it been hurting a lot lately?”

 

“It's nothing. Just acting up, that's all,” He tells her with a wave, opening the sliding glass door. They're immediately greeted by the smell of cigarettes, and the sound of loud chatter over music. Jason sticks his head in, then looks at her with a lopsided grin, “They’re doing body shots. Off of Lance.”

 

Kimberly laughs at that. Lance was a tall, scrawny guy who had managed to make the football team by pure luck. Kimberly pushes past Jason, “No way,” Jason’s tripping over someone’s foot as he steps into the room, one girl pulling him towards the game of beer pong by the front of his shirt. “Jase! I’ll be right back, want another drink?”

 

“No!” He yells over the music, “Yo, Kimberly! Don't let anyone make your drink, make it yourself! An-”

 

“If I can, put a cover on top. I know, Jase. Don't move.”

 

She runs into Tommy Oliver in the kitchen. Kimberly was hoping that she wouldn’t run into him. It was stupid wishful thinking. After all, it was _Tommy’s_ party. The kitchen was surprisingly empty, and Tommy strolled in as she was about to leave. He gave her a wide grin, blocking her way.

 

“I didn’t think I’d see you here!” He shouts over the music, and Kimberly has to resist the urge to roll her eyes. “You know, everyone told me you used to like parties. Until you met Deedee. Right? Was that her name?”

 

Kimberly grips the cup in her hand tighter. Tommy doesn’t notice her discomfort, not moving when she tries to push past him. She looks over his shoulder, looking for Jason. Maybe Zack had come back down already, or maybe Billy was done telling one of his stories. “Look,” Kimberly starts as Tommy rests his hand on the wall, “I gotta get back to my friends. I’ll catch up with you later.”

 

“Wait, c’mon. I just want to talk.” Tommy stumbles over his words, swaying as he takes a step back, and gives her another smile. “Everybody’s talking about you, y’know. And her. Deedee. It’s a shame you know.”

 

“Trini.”

 

“What?”

 

“Her name was Trini.” Kimberly says quietly.

 

“Oh, whatever. Deedee, Trini, same thing,” Tommy says with a wave, spilling some of his own drink. “We could joke that she's a virgin sacrifice and that's why you have sex, kids.”

 

“Trini has a better chance dead than you do alive,” Kimberly spits out. “Nobody said you can talk about her, so shut the fu-”

 

Zack is suddenly between them, and she can hear the sound of Zack’s fist meeting Tommy’s nose as Jason pulls her back, saying something to Billy as he grabs Zack by the collar of his jacket. Billy stops her from going after Jason, and she can hear shouting as more kids crowd around, wondering what all the commotion is about.

 

“Zack! Zack! Stop it, man! You got him,” Jason shouts.

 

“Tommy Oliver is getting his ass kicked by Zack Taylor!” Someone shouts behind her. A few kids snicker, none of them seeming sober enough to understand exactly what is happening until a girl pushes her way to the front.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” She shouts at Zack and Jason, Tommy looking between them with wide eyes, holding a hand up to his nose, trying to stop the blood flow.

 

“He shouldn't have talked about my friend like that,” Zack hisses. “Or talked to Kimberly like that. He was being a dick.”

She shoves Zack’s chest roughly, “That doesn’t mean you have to hurt him.”

 

Kimberly grabs her shoulder, breaking out of Billy’s grasp. “Don’t touch him,” She hisses, and Jason grabs her arm, pulling her and Zack out of the room, Billy close behind them. The crowd that had formed parts to let them by, them whispering as they pass. Kimberly bites her tongue to hold back a comment to one of the girls who snicker, “They’re so sensitive. It’s been over a month.”

 

Jason smacks Zack on the side of his head when they’re all piled on Tommy’s doorstep. Zack grumbles at him, but doesn’t fight back. He looks over at Kimberly, a short, apologizing glance. They all sit in silence, waiting for Jason to mumble something else, maybe for someone to come after them and give them a piece of their mind, but it never happens. Jason stares at Zack, deciding if he should let it slide or not.

 

Eventually, Jason just sighs, “Let’s go, guys.” None of them question him, and all pile into his car, an unfamiliar silence between them.

* * *

 

“Billy!” Kimberly shouts as she flies down the stairs, nearly slipping with her wet sneakers. He looks at her in surprise as she comes crashing down the last two.

 

“Kimberly! Are you okay?” Billy asks as he reaches for her arm. Kimberly glances over his shoulder, only to find that the prototype he has been working on for the past few weeks is gone. She tries to wave off his concern as he looks at her, his eyes lingering on hers- _Trini’s_ yellow jacket. “Kim? Why are you wearing Trini's jacket? I thought you didn't want it?”

 

“No, that's not what I- never-mind. It's not important,” Kimberly says with a sigh. She reaches for the note left behind in Trini’s pocket, “You know binary code, right? You know what Trini wrote on the locker.”

 

“I do know Binary. It's easy to read once you get the hang of it,” Billy answers as she pulls out the folded note. His eyes go wide. “Is that Trini’s? Here. I'll teach you how to read it. Alright? Just… Give it to me.”

 

Kimberly bites her lip. She taps her fingers. She tries to fight back all of the questions at the tip of her tongue as she waits for Billy to read it. He looks so focused, that Kim knows she shouldn't say anything, that she should give him the few minutes of peace he needs to read it. “You can read it, right? What does it say?”

 

Billy frowns and scratches his head, “It doesn't say anything, really. Okay, no, it says ‘dear Kimberly’ that's it.”

 

“Wha- No. Billy, i-i-it's… it has to say more than that. Why would that be the only thing she wrote?” Kimberly asks as she looks over his shoulder to glance at the faded ink.

 

_01000100 01100101 01100001 01110010 00100000 01001011 01101001 01101101 01100010 01100101 01110010 01101100 01111001 00100000_

 

“I just… It doesn't make sense, Billy. She’d leave more than that.”

 

“Maybe she wrote the rest somewhere else. Or maybe she just couldn't finish it,” Billy offers, resting his hand on her balled fist, his hand warm against her cold one. Kimberly closes her eyes and inhales sharply. Maybe she was wrong to expect more from a folded piece of paper. Maybe she was just over thinking the entire thing and was losing sleep for no reason. There's been no reason for her to be stressed out. She should be able to get through the school day without some sort of meltdown. “I can still show you how to read it. If you want?” Billy offers gently.

 

Kimberly glances down at the note Billy handed back to her. She can hear the smile in his voice as he pulls up a stool for her to sit on, a heavy book slamming onto his work bench. “We’ll start with the book, if that's okay. Trini gave it to me before she died.”

 

Billy gives her hand another reassuring squeeze as he sits down next to her, eagerly opening his book. “Okay, so for starters, you read right to left,” He gestures to his open book, “Then what you want to do is have an ASCII chart. It has all the characters of what Binary can translate into. Since we’re assuming that she wants us to translate it into english, we’ll just ignore the decimals, okay?”

 

“Okay…” Kimberly says carefully. Billy was talking so fast and giving her so much information at once that she already felt lost.

 

“And then you have to calculate each value of each line of the code,” When Kimberly looks at him in confusion and blinks slowly, Billy just sighs. “Okay. Here, let me show you. I’ll start with something simple.” He knocks over a few tools that fall to the floor with a crash as he fumbles for a pencil and a blank piece of paper.

 

_01101000 01101001 00100000_

 

Kimberly looks at Billy’s neat handwriting with a frown. “Oh, yeah!” Billy says, pulling out a calculator, “Let me show you how to count the numbers. Here, let me…” Billy quickly writes down a chart. “Okay. So there will always be 8 numbers for each letter. Each place has a default number…”

 

Billy goes on for hours. He tells her what exactly each number represents, why the highest number is 255, diving into the basics of understanding all codes. Kimberly doesn’t interrupt him, and watches him with a smile as he shows her the rule exponents, multiplying  each binary digit by two to the power of its place number. He tells her about how she wants to pay attention to where the ones are.

 

When he hands her a blank piece of paper and his pencil, she freezes. He hands her the string of code that he wrote earlier. She starts to argue, to say that she still can’t read it, but Billy promptly holds up his hand and smiles, “You got this, Kimberly. It’s just a warm up.”

 

It takes Kimberly almost ten minutes to figure it out. Billy claps excitedly when she does, and Kimberly when Billy offers her a fist bump she’s a bit surprised, but accepts it anyways. “Thanks, Billy. I gotta go now. Thank you so much!”

 

“Wait, you’re leaving already? Do you want the ACSII chart?”

 

“Oh. Shit, yeah, I’d love that Billy.” Kimberly half expected for Billy to tell her to take a photo of it with her phone, not go to his cabinet in the corner and hand her another copy of the book. She hugs him, thanks him again, throws Trini’s jacket over her shoulder and runs back up the stairs. She shouts a thank you to Candace, and is hit with cold rain as she ducks back outside.

 

When she gets to her car, she checks her phone and finds that her mom has called her. Kimberly thinks to call her back, but decides against it. She’ll be back home soon enough, anyways. Before she can think to toss her phone to the backseat, it vibrates in her hand violently, Jason’s name flashing onto the screen.

 

Kimberly sighs. Runs her fingers through her hair, and licks her lips. She debates on letting Jason going to voicemail or picking up. A conversation with Jason wasn't exactly what she had planned on doing right now, but she assumes that he must be calling for something important, because he hasn't sent her a text.

 

Jason doesn't even give her time to say anything as she picks up, “Kimberly? Where are you? Your parents called me, Zack’s out looking for you and Billy hasn't answered his phone, he’s… It’s not like Billy to ignore us. Just promise me you’re okay,” His last sentence comes out in a cracked whisper. “Have you seen Billy?”

 

“I was just at his house. I’m leaving now.”

 

“And everything is okay?”

“Everything is fine. He was just showing me some things.”

 

She can tell by the way Jason sighs, he doesn’t believe her. She hears someone talking to him furiously in the background, and he sighs again. She waits for him to speak again, half expecting him to yell at her. She knows that Jason wouldn’t do that, but the way he speaks to her in a flat voice next is what tells her that something is _seriously_ wrong. “Get Billy. We need to go to Zordon. I’ll tell your parents that you’re with me, okay?”

 

Kimberly almost doesn't answer. What could be happening now? She taps the steering wheel nervously, nodding even though Jason can't hear her. “Yeah, I’ll get Billy. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

 

Billy throws open her car door before she even hangs up, “I saw the texts Jason sent,” he says apologetically. “I knew you didn't leave, I didn't hear your car. Sorry. I should've knocked. An- Hey. You don't have a shell?”

 

“A what?” Kimberly asks, and she can hear Jason chuckle though the phone.

 

“A shell,” Jason and Billy chorus. “To swing for good luck.”

 

“Oh. No, I don't. You got an extra one with you?”

 

“No. You know what? It's fine. We’ll just go, Jason needs us,” Billy says. When she doesn't respond or move, he waves his hands, “It’s fine, I’ll get you one later. Go. Go.” Kimberly’s tires screech on the pavement as she pulls out of Billy’s driveway, and she can hear Billy telling her not to move _that_ fast and he grips the dashboard.

 

Kimberly’s sure that she ran through two red lights on their way to the quarry. Billy's sitting in the passenger seat, shouting at her to _slow down_ and that she needs to work on maintaining that safe speed. He even yells at her when she doesn’t put her blinker on at one turn. By the time he’s used to her driving, he just smiles and chirps, “We have 5.36 miles until we get to the quarry.”

 

Kimberly lets out a breathless laugh, “I don't think I've seen somebody drive this fast since the night you found those coins.”

 

“You drove faster. I could only get the van to do 90 miles per hour, you reached 92 a while back,” Billy says nodding towards the speedometer. “4.93 miles. Slow down, Kim. You're going to bald your wheels.”

 

“Jason said it was urgent.”

“We can't use our powers to get there quickly. Just slow down. We’ve got time, Kimberly.”

 

 _The last time I thought that Trini was killed,_ Kimberly bites back, but she lets her foot off the gas, giving Billy a strained smile. “There we go. Did Jason mention what was wrong?”

 

“Just that we needed to hurry. _Kimberly!_ ” Billy shouts as she speeds up again. “What the fuck? Slow down!”

 

Kimberly looks at him, bewildered. “Did you just… Did Billy Cranston just drop the f-bomb?”

 

“No! I didn't! Kimberly, you know what? Just… just keep driving, alright? Jason’s waiting for us.”

 

Kimberly laughs and listens to Billy, slowing to a stop as they pull up to the quarry. By the time they make it to the spaceship, Zordon is looking at them like a disappointed father, Alpha-5 is immediately scanning their heart rates, Zack looks like he's ready to yell at her and Billy, and Jason is standing there, with his arms crossed as he gives them nothing but a small nod and turns to face Zordon again.

 

Kimberly wants to ask what's wrong, but she bites it back. She has a feeling that none of the boys want the silence to be broken, or that she wouldn't be receiving a real answer if she asked, anyway. Zack hops down from his perch to stand next to Kimberly.

 

“Jason, what's wrong?” Billy asks as Zack rests a hand on her arm. He leans down to whisper into her ear.

 

“Jason and I haven't been able to morph.” Zack whispers, tapping her arm three times. It's a system they've made, all five of them. A habit none of them have been able to break. One tap simply meant, _don't worry_ and two taps meant, _we’ll talk later._ Three taps meant, _there’s trouble._ It made passing comments about their lives outside of acting like normal teenagers easier, not drawing eyes from one of the teachers or a lingering parent.

 

Kimberly looks at him, “What hell do you mean you haven't been able to morph?” She demands, watching as he clenches his jaw, letting go of her arm. Zack takes a few steps back, shaking his head.

 

“We haven't been able to morph. I tried to do it when Jason said you were missing.”

 

“That doesn't make any sense. We sho-”

 

“Rangers!” Zordon’s voice booms loudly, unexpectedly, causing Kimberly to flinch. She bites the inside of her cheek as she looks up at his pixelated face, waiting to hear whatever he's preparing to tell them. Behind her she can hear Zack's boots on the floor as he moves around nervously. She just _knows_ that he’s walking with his head down and pulling at his hair angrily. Billy looks over his shoulder, opening his mouth to say something. Zordon’s voice booms again, grabbing Billy’s attention once more. “Do not worry. It’s not unusual for Rangers not morphing when they're in distress. All you need to do is work together again.”

 

Zack snorts, “We’re not in distress, Zordon. Miss little Hart over here is.” He says, jabbing a finger in Kimberly’s direction.

 

“What the hell is your problem, Zack?” Kimberly fires back.

 

“You've been locked away ever since Trini died. You haven't done anything but act like you're the only one hurting. Bitch move, really. It's like you're back on the cheer squad, acting like you're royalty.”

 

“Yeah, because I left you alone after you wrecked your house that night. ‘Cause I'm just some damn royalty,” Kimberly’s response is quick, sarcastic. “Just casting you to the side like you’re some damn peasant.”

 

“Guys…” Billy’s voice is soft, a sound that barely reaches Kimberly’s ears as Zack laughs humorlessly.

 

“Really? You think I needed you that night?” Zack scoffs, looking at her. “You're the one who got Trini killed in the first place. _You're_ the reason why we can't morph, just like the first damn time. _You're_ the reason why everything has been so fucking hard lately. You can't just accept the fact that Trini’s dead, and you're pulling everyone down with you. Ever thought about that?”

 

It's a slap in the face. Zack’s words leave her winded, and she's stumbling for a response. Billy is asking her if she's okay. She can faintly hear Jason and Zack arguing loudly, and Zordon is trying to speak over them. For once, hearing Zordon doesn't make all of them stop immediately. The world keeps spinning, and suddenly Alpha is next to Billy, trying to get her to talk.

 

Kimberly does the only thing that her brain can think to tell her to do. She doesn’t answer Billy and Alphas questions. She doesn't listen to Zordon telling her that she needs to stay until they can figure out what’s causing them to not morph. She can hear Jason call after her, his voice splintered. Zack doesn't say a word. She can feel his eyes burning into her back until the metal door behind her slams shut. Kimberly knows that Zack’s still staring at the same spot, maybe wishing for her to turn around. She scoffs to herself at that, and shakes her head. Now that she really knows how Zack has been feeling the past few weeks, she knows that he won't be waiting for her to change her mind.

 

She drives back home. Her mother and father are waiting for her again nervously, and she finds herself answering all of their questions with ease. _Where were you? Billy’s. Did you get my messages? I was driving home when I saw them. Is everything alright? Everything is fine. Did you see Jason before you came home? Yes, mom. I was with Jason. Is… is that Trini's jacket? Yeah, Billy brought it by the other day. He thought I'd want it._

 

Her parents are relieved. They give her forced smiles and hug her. They tell her that they left her some dinner, that they expect her to tell them where she's going next time. She knows it's their way of saying that this weekend she isn't allowed out of the house, no matter where she's going. They ask her if she wants them to heat up the leftovers. She tells them no, reminds them that's she's fine. She even gives them another hug before she says that she's tired and is going to bed for the night.

 

They don't question it. They let her upstairs without another word.

 

Five minutes later, when she's under the covers her bed, holding onto Trini’s jacket, she hopes that her parents can't hear her crying as her shoulders shake with sobs, wishing that she had more time.

 

Kimberly doesn’t get much sleep that night. She wakes up feeling hollow and can hear her parents arguing in the kitchen downstairs. She tries to ignore it. Her parents didn’t fight often. If they did, she’s never been around to see it.

“Fuck,” Kimberly whispers when she hits her leg on the edge of her desk, knocking her phone off. It bounces on the carpets and lands a few feet away. She knows that the boys blew up her phone last night after she left. She really didn’t want to look at it now. With a sigh, she leaves her room and slips into the kitchen without her parents noticing. She grabs a box of cheerios and the carton of milk before slipping back upstairs.

 

Kimberly shoves a handful of cheerios into her mouth, remembering what Trini always told her, _What was the point of making cheerios a breakfast food if they taste better at night?_ All while eating cheerios at eleven at night, in front of the tv and watching some reality show.

 

She grabs the binder she left on her desk, and is about to open it again when she pauses. She never put the sticky note she found in Jason’s room with the other notes. She had left it in the pocket of one of her jeans. She scrambles to find them, pulling the sticky note out of them proudly.

 

Her phone buzzes loudly one the carpet a few feet away from her.

 

 **Blue [9:03]** Want me to come over?

 **Z-Man [1:43am]** I’m sorry. Call me when you wake up?

 

 **Z-Man [1:39am]** Kim. I’m sorry.

 

 **Z-Man [1:37am]** I really am sorry. Talk tomorrow?

 **Z-Man [1:35am]** You know I didn’t mean it

 **Z-Man [1:33am]** Kim, I’m sorry.

 **Z-Man [1:32am]** Kimberly?

 

 **Jase [1:27am]** You know all of us love you

 

 **Jase [1:24am]** He didn’t mean it.

 

 **Jase [1:23am]** I’m sorry about Zack

 

 **Jase [1:19am]** Just stay safe ok?

 

 **Jase [1:16am]** Call when you get home?

 

She clears all of the messages, and plugs her phone in. Kimberly can feel her hands shaking as she looks back at the sticky note. She racks her brain, trying to remember what Billy had taught her yesterday.

 

_01001011 01101001 01101101 00101100 00100000 01100111 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110000 01110010 01101111 01101101 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01101101 01100101 00111111 00100000_

 

Kimberly fumbles for a pencil and the book Billy had given her. She opens it to the ASCII chart, her hands shaking as she writes out what Trini had left: _Kim, go to prom with me?_ Kimberly lets out a strangled laugh, shaking her head. Her and Trini had decided that they didn’t want to go to Prom. It’s not that surprising to her that Trini had decided that the least she would do is ask.

 

She grabs the binder, staring at the first note she kept, the note Trini had handed her with a smirk in biology.

 

_01011001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110000 01100001 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01100001 01110011 01110011 00101100 00100000 01001000 01100001 01110010 01110100 00101110 00100000_

 

 _You’re a pain in my ass, Hart._ Kimberly kets out a real laugh at that, knowing exactly how Trini would have said ringing in her ears. Kimberly takes a deep breath before flipping to the next one. It was one the codes Trini had wrote on her arm. Kimberly remembers asking her to write it on a sheet of paper, which had only caused Trini to smile proudly and tease her.

  


_01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00101100 00100000 01001011 01101001 01101101 01100010 01100101 01110010 01101100 01111001 00100000 01001000 01100001 01110010 01110100 00101110 00100000_

 

It takes her longer to translate the next code, constantly double checking her work. She wanted to make sure that she was actually translating it correctly, without the help of Billy.

 

_I love you, Kimberly Hart._

 

Kimberly finds herself frozen, blinking away the tears that form in her eyes, but she’s still not able to pull her eyes away from the paper. She runs her fingers through her hair and inhales shakily, reaching for her phone blindly. She ignores the newest message from Zack, and calls Jason.

 

She has to sit through two painfully long rings before he picks up, his voice raspy from sleep, “Kimberly?”

 

“I never told her I loved her,” Kimberly chokes out. She must sound crazy, crying and calling him frantically, her voice barely able to be heard.

 

“I…” Jason there’s rustling as he pauses, “ _What?”_

 

“I never told her I loved her,” Kimberly repeats, wiping her cheek, “Jase, I should have told her. I never told her.”

 

“Kimberly, just stay where you are, okay? I’m coming over.”

 

She can’t formulate a response as he hangs up. She counts the minutes as they pass. Two. Then three. Slowly the fourth minute passes, and Jason’s at her window, prying it open from the outside and climbs in over her desk. Wordlessly he sits down next to her on the floor, his arm around her shoulders.

 

“I never told her I loved her.” Kimberly whispers again, her mouth dry. She felt that she had to say it one last time, that the first two times had went over Jason’s head, that the first two times weren't enough.

 

“Come here,” Jason says softly. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” He holds her as she cries. His warmth offers some her some comfort. When he kisses her temple and whispers something into her ear, she pulls away.

 

“Jase?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“When she died, did you feel it? I mean, you know how he…”

 

“I felt it, too.” Jason says quietly. Kimberly doesn’t add to that. There’s nothing else that needed to be said. She had found the answer that she was looking for. Her door creaks open, and her dad stands in the doorway with a small frown.

 

“Is everything okay?”

 

“I… uh, I was just-”

“I let Jason in last night,” Kimberly says quickly, “I didn’t want to be alone.”

 

“The least you could do is feed the poor boy, Kimberly. He looks like he’s starving.”

 

“I’m fine, Mr.Hart,” Jason offers a small smile, “Really. I’m not that hungry. I don’t have much of an appetite these days.”

 

“Well, it’s good that you’re here, Jason. Your mom and I have to go out and take care of some things. Don’t leave the house, we need to talk about last night when we come back,” He looks at Jason, “Take care of her.”

 

“Yes Sir.” Jason says quickly as her father disappears down the hallway. He stands up, pulling Kimberly up with him. Jason runs his fingers through his hair, glancing around her room, his eyes landing at the red sticky note, “Kim…”

 

“I took it from your room. I’m sorry.”

 

“I was going to give it to you. Actually, she was going to give it to you. She said she wanted it to be special. That she never thought that she’d go to prom until she met you,” Jason sighs as he notices the other pieces of paper laying around, Kimberly’s translations barely legible underneath the lines of code. “How long have you been doing this?”

 

“Not that long.” Jason raises an eyebrow, tilting his head, clearly not believing her. “Seriously, just since I woke up today. Yesterday I had Billy teach me how to read them.”

 

Jason sighs again, and puts the note back on her bed. He grabs her hand, and pulls her downstairs, “Zack was at my place last night,” Jason says as he moves around her kitchen with ease, grabbing a bowl and the pancake mix. “He feels really shitty about it, Kimberly.”

 

“Hmp.” Is Kimberly’s only response. She didn’t want to talk about Zack right now. She was still reeling in from the punch Trini’s notes had pulled. She was still trying to wrap her head around what exactly Trini had wanted to do with them. Maybe Kimberly was digging too deep. For Trini, maybe it was nothing but a hobby. But right now, it was Kimberly’s lifeline. It was the only thing that had been able to give her the drive she needed to get through the day.

 

“Look, I’m not defending what he said. He was being an asshole, but… We can't afford to be angry with each other right now, can we? We can’t morph, Trini’s gone, Zordon doesn't trust us anymore. We need each other more than ever now.”

 

“Zack should’ve thought about that before he blames me for something that was all of our faults,” Kimberly snaps. “I don’t care if he feels guilty. He’s acting like he was the only one that was affected by any of this!”

 

Jason presses his lips into a thin line, and Kimberly knows that he won’t be arguing with her. He turns his attention back to the pancake he was currently cooking, and Kimberly waits for him to say something else, arguing her to give Zack another chance. It wasn't even that Kimberly can’t forgive him, it’s just that she didn’t feel that she was ready to face Zack again. She couldn’t even bring it in her to be _mad_ at him. She understands that Zack was angry and confused with the whole situation. Jason’s eyes widen in surprise as there's suddenly loud beeping, and Kimberly rolls her eyes. He watches her as she crosses the kitchen and punches in the security code, and the beeping ceases to a stop. Kimberly crosses her arms, and Jason’s standing there, frozen, the batter dripping off of his spatula. Zack comes crashing into the kitchen, Billy close behind him. Both of them freeze when they see Kimberly and Jason. All four of them stand in place, all of them refusing to move until Billy goes, “Jason, I think your pancake is starting to burn.”

 

“Oh, _shit!”_ Billy moves to help Jason. Kimberly and Zack don't break eye contact. Zack offers her a forced smile.

 

“You set my security system off.”

 

“I didn't mean to… I forgot the password. Unless it was changed from your birthday…” Zack trails off, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Look, I made it go off for a _good_ reason.”

 

Kimberly taps her foot. Zack looks over at Jason and Billy, then back to her. “Kimberly, I'm just trying to apologize. I got angry when I shouldn't have. I’m sorry.”

 

 _It’s fine,_ Kimberly thinks, but bites it back. She never did blame him for getting mad, but she couldn’t help but think to how he had meant every word he said. She can feel Billy and Jason watching the two of them, and Billy breaks the silence, “Jason, why can’t we morph again?”

 

Jason laughs nervously, “If anyone can figure it out, I think it’s you, Billy.”

 

“Maybe it’s just because we haven’t morphed in a while. We just need to practice again.” Billy says, “Or we haven’t been talking to each other lately. Not the way we used to, at least.”

 

“We’ll figure it out,” Zack pipes up, “It can’t be anything big, can it? We just fell out of sync.”

Jason looks over at Kimberly, and she knows what he’s thinking about. Trini’s coin. She should have gotten rid of it, like she promised Jason she would. Maybe keeping the coin was a bad idea, since according to Zordon, it was meant to be casted to the side to find the net person worthy of being the yellow ranger. The coin was still safely under her bed, in the same box Jason had given it to her.

 

She looks over at Zack, then back at Jason. He’s watching her, like he’s waiting for her to admit that she never got rid of it like she had promised. Could he really be that surprised? Getting rid of the coin wasn’t easy for him, he proved that. And he had thought that Kimberly would be able to get rid of it herself?

Zack meets her gaze when she looks at him again, and she grabs his arm, pulling him out of the kitchen. She can hear Billy start a conversation with Jason as she leads Zack up the stairs. “Look, I uh… I still have Trini’s coin.”

 

“What? Are you shitting me? Jason said that it wa-” Zack says loudly, his voice bouncing off the walls.

 

“Shush… Be quiet,” Kimberly hisses, diving under her bed for the box, “He gave it to me. A few weeks ago. Said that he wanted me to get rid of it.”

“Last night Zordon was talking about how the coin was waiting for the yellow ranger,” Zack says quietly, “That we’d be lucky if we got to meet them. But he also said it be better if it didn’t happen in our lifetime be-”

 

“We need to get rid of this…” Kimberly says, shoving it into his hands. “Jason couldn’t do it, and I couldn’t do it. I… I don’t want to get rid of it, but we have to.”

 

Zack looks at her, his eyes wide. He glances over her shoulder, his eyes landing on her translations. His gaze softens, but he doesn’t say anything. Billy calls them from the kitchen, telling them that breakfast was ready, and neither one of them move. Zack’s gripping the box so tightly, she can hear it start to crack under his hands. “She loved writing those for you.” Is all Zack says as he sets the box on her bed, and goes downstairs to the kitchen.

Kimberly grabs the box and runs after Zack, stopping him at the time of the stairs. “Zack, we can't just leave this here.”

 

Zack runs his fingers through his hair, and sighs as he opens the box, taking Trini’s coin in his hands. “What do you want me to do, Kimberly? Throw it out the window? Leave it somewhere at the mines? I don't know what to do with it.”

“Just help me get rid of it. Later today, when Jason’s gone.”

 

“Kimberly…”

 

“Please?” Zack glances down at the yellow coin in his hand, then at Kimberly, his eyes laced with worry.

 

“I really worry about you these days,” He says quietly. “You’ve changed. Not that it’s a bad thing, it’s just that… It happened so quickly.”

 

Kimberly can’t hold it back anymore, “Trini and I fought right before she died,” she blurts, her hands balling into fists. “We… We fought and I fucked everything up. She thought I hated her,” She wipes away the tears that she didn’t even feel coming, “I never even told her I loved her. And… I just… Finding all of the notes she left…”

 

“You two fought?” Zack asks incredulously. “Over what? Why didn't you tell us?”

 

“Because there wasn’t any _time_ to talk about it,” Kimberly mutters. “It’s not like it was important to you guys. What difference would it have made if you knew?”

 

“It would have made a huge difference, Kimberly.” Zack mutters.

 

“It wouldn’t have.”

 

Zack sighs, grabbing Trini’s coin and putting it in his pocket before he goes down the stairs, leaving her in the hallway.

 

* * *

 

 

_Kimberly was nervous._

 

_She was trying her best not to be nervous, but hey, meeting your girlfriend’s mom for the first time as her girlfriend is nerve wrecking. Especially when what little relationship she had with Trini’s mom, June, was already strained._

 

_Maybe taking Trini’s offer for dinner wasn't the right choice. Kimberly was slightly surprised when Trini asked- she didn't want Kimberly to be near her parents. Kimberly was much more surprised when Trini added the fact that June was looking forward to her company. It would come off as rude if she turned it down, right? So she thought about it. Asked her dad for his opinions. Then she thought about it some more and asked Billy, who had only laughed and told her she was overthinking it. So Kimberly took Trini's- June’s offer for dinner._

 

_And knowing the Mendez family, it was either going to be a night that turns out pleasantly well or some major, life change catastrophe will happen. Kimberly might be bluffing. Only slightly._

 

_She rings the doorbell, and is immediately greeted by Trini’s brothers, Luis and Javier. They're talking over each other excitedly, “I told you it was Kimberly!”_

 

_“Shut up, Javier. I never said it wasn't.”_

 

_Kimberly smiles at them, “Boys, be nice to each other. You’ll be stuck together for the rest of your lives,” She proudly holds up a bag filled with their favorite candy, an odd mixture of sour worms and mini jawbreakers. “¿quieres algunos?” She adds unsurely._

 

_Luis, who she can only tell apart from Javier with his missing tooth, elbows Javier excitedly, “Que ha recogido algo de Español,” he says almost proudly. “Trini está en su cuarto.”_

 

_“Gracias,” Kimberly says as she hands Javier the bag, knowing that out of the two, he has the most self control. Before she can say anything else, they're slipping on the hardwood in their socks and running into the kitchen, “¡Escucha a tu madre!” Kimberly throws over her shoulder as she hears June say something from the kitchen._

 

_She goes up the stairs and trips over one of the boys action figure, and just prays that it isn't broken as she pushes it to the side, knocking at Trini’s door before she hears a small, “Come in.”_

 

_Trini’s at her desk, typing away at her computer. She closes it when she realizes it’s Kimberly and smiles, “So, you've been practicing at home, I take it?”_

 

_Kimberly shrugs, “Javier likes it better.”_

 

_“You didn't have to go learn a whole new language for him, you know.”_

 

_“I was going to take it as my language credit anyways. It's not a big deal, Trini. What were you working on?”_

 

_“Oh, that? Nothing. Just some engineering project,” Trini explains, “We’re supposed to be coding our robots for the next few weeks, but it’s too easy for me, so he gave me an alternative assignment.”_

 

_“Must be a boring class, then. Might as well just work for my dad.” Kimberly jokes._

 

_Trini laughs at that and shakes her head, “I still can't believe you've spent your entire life around a coding expert and never learned a single coding language.”_

 

_“That's because my mom got me into cheerleading,” Kimberly thinks back to all of the binary notes Trini has been leaving behind for her. “But I’m going to look into the Binary soon. I promise.”_

 

_Luis is at the door, “Trini, mama wants you.” He disappears down the hallway before Trini or Kimberly can respond, and Trini sighs. Kimberly offers her a smile._

 

_“Can’t be that bad, right?”_

 

_Kimberly felt awkward walking down the stairs after Trini, with Trini’s parents keeping a close eye on her. Trini’s dad mutters a thank you to her about the candy she got for Luis and Javier. Luis smiles at her, grabbing her hand. “Sit next to me?”_

 

_Kimberly doesn’t deny his request, allowing him to pull her to the table. She hears Trini behind her, “Luis, be nice to her.”_

 

_Trini sits down next to her, “Sorry about him,” She mutters, nodding in Luis’ direction. “He just really likes people, I guess.”_

 

_“Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal,” Trini sighs at that, glancing nervously at her mom. Kimberly nudges her shoulder, “You worry too much. Everything will be fine. It's just dinner, right?”_

 

_Dinner was awful. It consisted of Trini and her mother arguing, her dad telling them to calm down and Trini’s brothers looking at Kimberly with wide eyes. She knew exactly what they were thinking. That it was her fault. They weren’t wrong, anyways. It really was Kimberly’s fault. With one offhand comment about dating Trini, and everything was crashing down._

 

_“Mrs. Mendez…” Kimberly stands up so fast that she accidently knocks over her drink. Trini mom glares at her, and Kimberly has to stop herself from grabbing Trini’s hand. It would only make matters worse. “I don’t think now is a good time.” June and Trini glance over to her brothers, and then June looks back at Kimberly._

 

_“Do your parents know?” June demanded, and Kimberly doesn’t answer. June takes her silence as an answer and looks back over at Trini, “And you. Bringing this into our house. Where the boys can see.”_

 

_“Ma, they don’t even understand,” Trini stands her ground, her jaw clenching. “Trying to keep my ‘lifestyle’ out of the house won’t help. They don’t even care.”_

 

_“Whatever this is, I don’t want to see it here. Get out.”_

 

_“Ma…”_

 

_“Mrs. Mendez, w-what? You can’t just kick her out. She didn’t even do anything wrong. S-”_

 

_“I wasn’t talking to her.”_

 

_Trini and Kimberly fall silent at that, and Victor is reaching for June’s hand, mumbling something to her. Kimberly bites her lip as Trini looks over at her, her face emotionless. Luis tugs on her sleeve, but Kimberly doesn’t answer him. “June,” Kimberly barely hears Victor as Trini grabs her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You can’t talk to someone else’s child like that.”_

 

_Kimberly follows Trini to the front porch. She doesn’t respond when Trini nudges her, feeling stunned. She thinks about how angry Trini’s parents are. When she leaves, Trini would be stuck listening to them yell at her over something she can’t control, and it was all Kimberly’s fault. She should have just kept her mouth shut, asked Trini about it beforehand. She pulls her hand out of Trini’s grasp._

 

_“I’m sorry. I-I… I didn’t mean to. It was an accident. I didn’t think about it.”_

 

_Trini sighs. Kimberly watches as she taps her fingers on her leg nervously. Trini refuses to meet her eyes. She can hear Trini’s fighting somewhere inside. She looks over Trini’s shoulder and finds her brothers watching them curiously. Her heart sinks and she has to take a sharp breath before she starts to speak again, “I thought she already knew.”_

 

_“What?” Trini says, shocked. “I never… When did I say that? Kimberly, I’ve never said that!”_

 

_“Trini, you said, ‘My mom wants you over for dinner, she approves’ What else would that mean? When I asked you if she knew, you told me yes!”_

 

_“That’s not- you know what? Fuck this. I don’t want to talk about this right now, Kimberly,” Trini says, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I just… I’m just no  talking about this right now, alright?”_

 

_“You always say that.”_

 

_“Excuse me?”_

 

_“You always say some bullshit about how you don’t want to talk. Did it ever occur to you that if you just learned how to communicate, this wouldn’t have happened?!”_

 

 _Trini lets out a laugh, “I’m the one who needs to learn how to communicate, Kimberly? You’re the one who doesn’t talk at_ all _still want to say this is my fault? You know how my mom is, I tell you all the time. Maybe you’re the one who needs to learn how to fucking listen.” Trini snaps._

 

_“You know what? You’re right, we’re not talking about this right now. I’m leaving. See you at school.”_

 

_Trini’s face softens at Kimberly’s words, letting out an exasperated groan, “Wait, Kim, I ju-”_

 

_“You said you didn’t want to talk about it,” Kimberly whispers, running her fingers through her hair, the anger she felt moments ago is gone. “So we’re not going to talk about it.”_

_“Kimberly, just, fuck, just take this, okay? Please?” Trini’s voice is soft and gentle. She doesn’t wait for her response before she slips a folded piece of paper into her hand, “You don’t have to read it right away. I just… I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”_

 

_“Yeah.” Kimberly replies, feeling oddly empty as she walks to her car. Trini watches her, and then gives her a small wave before disappearing inside. Kimberly unfolds the note Trini gave her._

 

_01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00101100 00100000 01001011 01101001 01101101 01100010 01100101 01110010 01101100 01111001 00101110 00100000_

 

* * *

Billy is a the bottom of the stairs calling her name. She gives him a half-hearted wave, and he frowns, “Is everything alright, Kimberly?”

 

Kimberly sighs, and bites the inside of her cheek, “Billy, what did Trini right on her locker?”

 

“W-what? The code? I can’t remember. I thought you wrote it down somewhere, don’t you have it? I-”

 

“Can you just tell me?” Kim pleads. She didn’t what to explain to him that she was tired of going over Trini’s notes. She wasn’t sure if she was prepared to translate another one by herself. Billy sighs, clearly struggling with his own thoughts. Kimberly doesn’t want to push him to do anything. Billy watches her as she goes back into her room, grabbing Trini’s calculus book.

 

“Kimberly, wait. What are you doing, I can tell you. It’s just that I promised Trini that I would say anything to you an-”

 

Billy stops when he looks over her shoulder, staring down at the line of code.

 

_01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110010 01110010 01111001 00100000_

 

Billy waits for her reaction. He watches quietly as Kimberly reads it over and over again, trying to remember all of the rules Billy had taught her yesterday. She looks over at Billy, and he gives her a small smile. Billy offers her and closed fist quietly, and Kimberly is taken aback. Kimberly takes his offer and gives him a fist bump before looking back down at the code.

 

_I’m sorry._

 

Kimberly swallows roughly. She crumbles up the piece of paper, feeling sick. Billy watches her as she throws it across the room, landing somewhere on the floor near the other notes. “Kimberly? Why was Trini saying sorry? Were you mad at her or something? Trini didn’t tell me anything. She-”

 

“We fought. It was nothing.”

 

“Trini was working on a project for you,” Billy blurts. “She made me promise not to tell. But she was making this system for you and she wanted me to help her and I really wasn’t supposed to tell you, because she wanted it to be a surprise, but she had it on her computer and everything. Trini was almost done with it, I think. I’m not sure bu-”

 

“Billy. How long was she working on it?”

 

“Oh, I don’t know. A few months? She basically made her own program and everything, you know? She was gonna give it to you when you learned Binary. It’s like a little quiz, too. She makes you put in answers to see the real thing. You know Trini, she got really excited about it and she had it all planned out, you know? All she needed was to finish it. I mean, I was helping her with it and stuff, to make sure that the program would work. She didn’t really need my help, she’s one of the best coders I’ve met… She really loved you.”

 

“I know. I never told her that,” Kimberly blinks rapidly, trying to wrap her brain around all of the information Billy had just given her. “That I loved her. I didn’t even learn how to read the damn codes for her. I promised her that I would and I never learned. I just never got around to it.”

 

“You know, if you really love someone, you don't have to say it. They'll know,” Billy tells her, “That’s what my mom says, because sometimes people are afraid to fall in love but they fall in love anyways. You don’t always have to say it, because sometime you just can’t.”

 

Billy gives her shoulder a squeeze and goes to leave, but she stops him, “Wait, Billy!” She says quickly, “She still has it, right? Or you have a copy of it? The program?”

 

“Trini still has it on her computer. You’re going to have to talk to her parents about that. I don’t know if they got rid of it or not.”

 

“Billy! Kimberly!” Jason’s shouting for them. Kimberly bites her lip, deciding on what she should do.

 

“Later. I’m going to talk to her parents, want to come?” She asks.

 

“I’ll have to ask my mom, but sure.”

 

* * *

 

Jason finds out that she still has Trini’s coin.

 

He’s not angry. At least, she thinks he’s not. Zordon doesn’t bother to hide his disappointment, but he doesn’t yell at her. He simply tells her that she and the boys have to hide it. Alpha suggests that they throw it somewhere into the mines, that way if something goes wrong, it’ll be close to them and they have some chance of finding it again.

 

Zordon suggests that they find a place that none of them have been to before. Jason suggests that they hide it somewhere near the waterfall Kimberly used to go to. Zack suggests that they bury it somewhere in the trailer park he lives, insisting that nobody’s going to be looking for anything there. Billy suggests that they leave it in the ship, saying that there’s not going to be another person worthy of being the next yellow ranger while they’re still alive.

 

None of them can agree until Zack says they should bury it out on the football field behind Angel Grove. “Think about it,” He says, “Nobody’s gonna accidently find it if we bury it deep enough. If Zordon’s right, and the next big threat won’t happen until we’re all dead, a hundred years from now, it’s perfect. It’ll eventually change, yeah, but bro, I don’t think cleats are gonna find it.” He adds when Jason begins to protest. “Besides, Trini would kill us if we just dumped into the ocean. She didn’t love football or angel grove, but I think it’s the best place we got.”

 

They all agree. Even Zordon thinks it’s a good idea, telling them to not bury it near the goal post.

 

Billy manages to turn on the stadium lights for them, and as Jason helps Zack bury a hole, he looks over at Kimberly, “I hope they’re not getting a turf field!” He shouts over his shoulder with a laugh. Zack punches his shoulder, getting his attention again.

 

“They better not. I hate getting the turf in my shoes,” Zack says, “Besides, you know Coach Wyss will throw a fit.”

 

Billy appears at his shoulder, “Do they know they don’t have to dig this deep? I checked all the construction plans for Angel Grove, and they’re not planning on changing the school for another ten years, except extending the school lot, but they’re already doing that.”

 

Kimberly shakes her head, “Let them do it, I think it’s distracting them.”

 

Billy stops them five minutes later when Zack and Jason start to argue again, and he puts Trini’s coin into the hole they dug gentle, as if it’s still connected to her. Zack squeezes her shoulder when he hears her inhale shakily. She tries to tell herself that it’s just a stupid _coin,_ but watching Jason cover it in a pile of dirt makes her feel like she’s saying goodbye to Trini again, and she’s not sure if she wants to do that.

 

She tells herself that it’s for the best. Whatever happens next is what happens. Everything is now out of her control.

 

Jason and Zack cover it up quickly, “Well, I guess that’s it, huh?” Zack asks, and the rest of them nod in agreement.

 

“That’s it,”  Jason confirms patting his back, “I’m kinda hungry now, if I’m honest.”

 

Kimberly laughs at that, shaking her head. She looks over at Billy, to see his reaction and when his eyes meet hers, she knows he’s thinking the same thing. Kimberly still hasn’t been able to read the last note that Trini left behind for her. She gives him a small smile, hoping that he can tell she’s okay with not knowing what it says. For now.

 

* * *

 

Trini’s room has been left untouched.

 

At least, it _looks_ like it’s been untouched. Kimberly tries her best to ignore the various pictures Trini has laying around her room, stepping over a pair of her worn out converse as she walks to her desk. June was surprisingly quiet as she opened the door to find KImberly and Billy standing there, shivering from the cold and asking her if they could get into Trini’s room without notice. Or any real reasoning.

 

“You might need to plug it in,” June tells Kimberly, nodding at Trini’s laptop. “The password is the boy’s birthday, I think. If not, I’m sorry, but you’re out of luck.” She glances at Billy, “Perhas Billy knows it.” Then she’s gone, as if it’s perfectly normal for her dead daughter’s girlfriend to want access to her computer.

 

She opens it carefully, surprised to see that it still has some battery life. Billy reaches over her, types the password in for her, giving her a small smile, “Here, it’s this one…” He clicks on a document, and immediately, lines of codes pop up, and he frowns, “This isn’t it. Well, I mean it _is_ , but I guess she decided to just make it a letter? I don’t know, Kimberly. I’ll leave you alone, if you want. Unless you need help translating it, but I think you’ve gotten a hang of it.”

 

“Thanks, Billy,” She glances at the screen, “You can stay if you want.”

 

01001000 01100101 01111001 00101100 00100000 01001011 01101001 01101101 01101101 01111001 00101110 00100000 00001010 00001010 01001001 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01101001 01100110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100101 01110110 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00101100 00100000 01100010 01110101 01110100 00100000 01101001 01100110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01101111 00101100 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01100001 01110011 01110011 01110101 01101101 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100011 01100001 01110101 01110011 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100100 01100001 01100100 00100000 01101111 01110010 00100000 01000010 01101001 01101100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01101000 01100101 01101100 01110000 01100101 01100100 00101110 00100000 01001110 01101111 00101100 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01101010 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01101011 01101001 01100100 01100100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00101110 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01001001 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001 01110010 01110100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01101110 01101111 01111001 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110111 01101000 01101111 01101100 01100101 00100000 01100010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101111 01101111 01101011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101100 01100101 01100001 01110010 01101110 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00101110 00100000 01010011 01101111 00101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00101110 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110011 01110100 01101001 01100011 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01101101 01100101 00101110 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 01110011 00100000 01100010 01100101 01110100 01110111 01100101 01100101 01101110 00100000 01110101 01110011 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100101 01101110 00100000 01110010 01101111 01110101 01100111 01101000 00101110 00100000 01001101 01101111 01110011 01110100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100011 01100001 01110101 01110011 01100101 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101101 01100101 00101110 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110010 01110010 01111001 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00101110 00100000 01000010 01110101 01110100 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01111001 00100111 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01100010 01100101 01110100 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100011 01100001 01110101 01110011 01100101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100010 01100101 01101100 01101001 01100101 01110110 01100101 00100000 01110111 01100101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101101 01100001 01100100 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00101110 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110010 01110010 01111001 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01110111 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110101 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01101100 01100001 01110011 01110100 00100000 01101110 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 00101110 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110000 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00101110 00001010 00001010 01010100 01110010 01101001 01101110 01101001 00100000

 

Kimberly heart skips a beat. She slams the laptop shut, causing Billy to flinch in surprise. She wasn't expecting an apology from Trini. She wasn't expecting for it to be so… She doesn't even _know_ how to explain it. Kimberly had expected the letter to be filled with some of their inside jokes and Trini saying something about them making up.

 

She didn't expect it to be an apology. Not from after their fight. God, she really did not expect that. She almost pushes away the feeling that there's something more, that something is still _missing._ Kimberly looks over at Billy.

 

“Do you think there's anything else left?” Kimberly asks, trying to keep her voice steady. It doesn't work. Her voice quivers as Billy shakes his head.

 

“Not that I know of. She said that she was going to put everything in the same document. I don't know if she changed the actual letter itself. I mean, she said something about wanting to _add_ something but never actually _changing_ it, so we’re just gonna have to assume that it's the same.”

 

Kimberly opens the laptop quickly again, not bothering to read over the letter again. She makes sure that the laptop is still connected to the printer and prints it off. “I saved all of them. The ones she gave to me, at least,” She explains to Billy. “Do you think there's any left? On her computer, I mean?” Kimberly adds. She already feels guilty for asking, knowing that she would have to look through Trini’s stuff if she wanted to find anything.

 

“I think that’s it.” Billy says apologetically.

 

Kimberly’s forced to take that as an answer as Victor comes home, angry and slurring over his words as he yells at her and Billy to get out of his house.

 

* * *

 

 

She goes back to the football field. On a Tuesday night, after she went back to the ship and Zordon told her that the morphing grid was acting up, _unexplainable behaviors. The grid says the yellow coin is still active, which is normal after a ranger dies. It takes a while for the coin to cool down, in a sense. Only problem is that it’s never been this busy. As if it has unfinished business._ Kimberly arrives to the field a few minutes before practice is over. She makes sure nobody can see her, but she watches as coach Wyss shouts commands and plays at the team. She watches as one of them trips over an uneven spot in the ground, near the middle of the fifty yard line. Right where they buried Trini’s coin.

 

Kimberly laughs as one of the players trip over the uneven spot, and Coach Wyss is yelling at them, “Which one of you thought it’d be funny to ruin the field?” None of them answer, and he says something else before letting them go. Her phone vibrates in her hand, and it’s a text from Jason. She types him a halfhearted response, and within the next five minutes, the field is completely empty.

 

Kimberly still hesitates to actually go onto the field. There’s nobody around, so she’s not sure why she’s scared of getting caught. Besides, most people in Angel Grove wouldn’t find it weird to see her on the field. They’d probably assume that she’s there finishing a workout or something. When she _does_ step onto the field though, she feels funny. The same way she did when she first found her own coin, not sure of what she could do.

 

The ground hasn’t changed much, except  for the obvious spot of upturned dirt. Kimberly sighs, shoving her hands into her pockets as a strong wind blows through. “I… I don’t know why I came back here. Zordon said you’re still doing your own thing, so I thought…” She lets out a humorless laugh. She talking to the coin as if it’s a _person_. “I... God, I really don’t know what to say. But Zordon said it’s like you’ve got some unfinished business, or some shit like that. So I guess that maybe coming back here would help. I don’t know.”

She pauses. Nothing happens. She taps her foot on the ground anxiously.

 

“Alright, you got me there,” She says. “I’m not here to talk to a goddamned coin. I just… When I heard Zordon say that, I couldn’t help that maybe a part of Trini is still here, you know? Alpha always said our Zords are an extension of ourselves, so the same thing for the coins, right? Anyways. I don’t really know how you- the coin, I mean, do this. But you did a good job with picking Trini. And I miss her a lot. But I’m glad we found those coins, or I would’ve probably spent my life around shitty people.”

 

Her hands curl around a piece of paper in her pocket. “I even decided to write one of those binary notes for her. It’s better now, than never doing it, right? I wish I had learned it before, though.” She turns on her heel after that, making her way to the ship, like she promised Jason she would.

 

When she arrives, the boys and Zordon are waiting for her. Zordon, uncharastically, gives her a smile. “The grid has stopped acting strange,” He announces, “Go home, enjoy your time off. No training for a week. Alpha will contact you if anything changes.”

 

They all turn to go, but Zordon stops her, “Kimberly, a word.” Jason and the others look unsure, but Kimberly tells them to go ahead. She knows they won’t go too far without her. Once the door slides shut behind them, Zordon gives her another smile. “I don’t know how you did it, but the grid told us you’re the one who helped.”

 

“With what?”

 

“The grid never lies. For whatever reason the yellow coin was acting out, you helped fix it. Good job, Kimberly.”

“What about now? What does the gird say?”

 

“There won’t be anymore trouble for your team, if that is what you’re wondering about. But you five will always be Power Rangers.”

 

Kimberly smiles at that.

 

“Yo, what did Zordon want?” Zack asks as she sits next to him in Jason’s truck. All three of them are watching her expectantly, and she rolls her eyes.

 

“It was nothing, boys. C’mon, Jason, we’re hungry.” Jason rolls his eyes as he starts his car, and Kimberly pulls out the note she had kept in her pocket.

 

“Hey…” Zack says gently, nudging her shoulder when he notices. “What does that one say?”

 

“Something I should’ve said a long time ago.” Kimberly tells him, glancing at it one last time before putting it away.

 

_01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00101100 00100000 01010100 01110010 01101001 01101110 01101001 00101110 00100000_


End file.
